There was an interesting article that recently appeared in The New York Times Magazine about the advent of bariatric surgery, which was likened to what economists call a “commitment device-a means with which to lock yourself into a course of action that you might not otherwise choose but that produces a desired result.”

The thrust of the article is whether weight-loss surgery is a solution to the troubling obesity rate in the U.S., or actually part of the problem itself. And although there may be downsides to the popular bariatric procedures, as there are to basically any necessary surgery, the fact of the matter is that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. And of course, it’s probably safe to assume that the authors, Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt, who wrote the titillating book “Freakonomics” do not suffer from obesity, either.

Why this assumption? Because they have failed to ascertain why people who suffer from obesity, and whose health suffers because of obesity, would opt for such a measure. Their solution is to find out why obesity rates have increased so dramatically in the United States and claim “the right non-surgical solution just hasn’t been found yet.” But what the authors don’t mention is that saying a conventional regimen of dieting, exercise, and white-knuckled determination is all that is necessary to take off weight and keep it off, is, for those who have actually been diagnosed with morbid obesity, not looking at the big picture.

It’s like the problem of drug addiction in America; if all it took to quell the awful consequences that come that have been and continue to be wrought by illegal drug use in the U.S. is to simply “say no”-ya know, just don’t do it!- then why has the government spent billions and billions of dollars fighting it, seemingly without an end in sight? It’s because these issues are not nearly as black and white as that.

Bariatric surgery has helped a multitude of people who suffer terribly from obesity and may have tried everything else to no avail, and because of innovative technological advances such as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (or “lap-band” surgery), have an alternative that, as we know, that allows patients to keep their weight off when nothing else would. Recent analysis has even shown that other conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea can also be eliminated through weight-loss surgery. Of course, modern society tends to favor the “quick fix” for nearly every facet of life. But to dismiss bariatric surgery as just that, as a “commitment device”, is simply one-sided.