Speaking at the noon meeting of the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville on February 4 was Debra Proulx, the program manager for the Center for Surgical Weight Management at Gwinnett Medical Center Duluth.  Debra is a Certified Bariatric Nurse who coordinates all services and education for the bariatric program.  She opened her talk with statistics outlining the obesity problem in the United States and in Georgia.  In the U.S. 35.7% of adults are overweight; in Georgia 65% of adults and 40% of children are overweight.  The medical costs resulting from these statistics are significant, since hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and Type II diabetes are related to weight.  She then gave information about the Medical Center’s program.  Dr. Robert Richard, a bariatric surgeon heads a team of nurses, dieticians, and counselors.  The first surgery was performed in March of 2010.  Patients are required to undergo an extensive preparatory process before the actual surgery and have follow-up for the rest of their lives.