Cutting yourself to lose weight?

The OP sourced Freakonimics Radio. Automatic credibility fail.

Are you familiar with Freakonomics Radio? Or was that a knee jerk, emotional reaction to the name? These are the people behind it:

Steven D. Levitt is the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, where he directs the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. He is the 2003 John Bates Clark Medal winner, an award that recognizes the most outstanding economist in America under the age of 40. In 2006, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 People Who Shape Our World. Levitt received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1989, his Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1994, and has taught at Chicago since 1997. In addition to his academic and Freakonomics pursuits, he is a founding partner of The Greatest Good consulting firm. He lives in Chicago with his wife Jeannette and their four children.

and

Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author, journalist, and TV and radio personality. In addition to Freakonomics and SuperFreakonomics, his books include Turbulent Souls (Choosing My Religion), Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper, and the children’s book The Boy With Two Belly Buttons. His journalism has been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time, and has been anthologized in The Best American Sports Writing, The Best American Crime Writing, and elsewhere. He has taught English at Columbia University (while receiving an M.F.A. there), played in a rock band (which started at Appalachian State University, where he was an undergrad, and was later signed to Arista Records), and, as a writer, was first published at the age of 11, in Highlights for Children. He lives in New York with his wife, the documentary photographer Ellen Binder, and their children.

Good googling there. Dr. Oz is educated and award winning too, and I think he is a quack. I still think the comparison between cutting your gums and bariatric surgery is ludicrous.

You didn't answer my question.