Patients with morbid obesity or severe obesity with comorbidities who meet the National Institutes of Health criteria for bariatric surgery and required by insurance to participate in a medically supervised weight loss program prior to authorization for surgery will be offered enrollment into the study. The 10 subjects enrolled will be men and women ages 18 to 69 years with a BMI of greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2 and less than 60 kg/m2. Patients must be fit to undergo major abdominal surgery and be reasonably expected to complete the six-month study protocol prior to authorization for surgery.