In the September issue of Glamour magazine, Star Jones Reynolds admits that her August 2003 "medical intervention" was in fact gastric bypass surgery. In a personal essay, that hits stands August 7, Reynolds writes about her dramatic weight loss of 160 pounds. The former "View" co-host had been avoiding questions about it for years.

"I admit that when asked about my obvious weight loss over the past four years, I was intentionally evasive," says Reynolds, 45. "Lying was never an option for me, so I called it a 'medical intervention,' which was true, but it was really a pathetic attempt to tell only the truth I could handle at the time."

Reynolds, who weighed 307 pounds at her heaviest, says her most serious weight gain started around her 40th birthday in 2002, when she was lonely and turned to food for comfort. Over the next 17 months, Reynolds put on 75 pounds.

"We African American women are taught to be proud of our curves, full breasts and shapely hips," says Reynolds. "I used to look in the mirror and take pride in my figure, but that was when I was legitimately a full-figured woman. I'd gradually gone from full-figured to morbidly obese."

Those close to Star would not dare speak of her weight, but a friend eventually sat her down and showed concern. Reynolds could no longer live in denial so she took a trip to the doctor's office.

Reynolds says the gastric bypass surgery was a success, but found she was "still consumed with the same anger, shame and insecurity" as before the procedure. "Everything about me was already so public (mostly my own doing _ talk about dumb!), so of course everyone wanted to know what I had done," she continues. "I was also terrified someone would have a tragic result after emulating me without making an informed decision with her doctor.

The reason Reynolds was not outspoken about her operation was a mixture of fear that it would not work, that she would not lose weight, and a fear of the public. "The complete truth is, I was scared of what people might think of me," says Reynolds. "I was afraid to be vulnerable, and ashamed at not being able to get myself under control without this procedure."

Because of her husband, Al Reynold, Star began therapy two years ago. It has helped her to talk openly about her weight loss and began the healing process leading up to her confession.

Star says that the experience has taught her that she can not control what others think. After the surgery, Reynolds realized that before she could move on, she would have to "face the present and the past as they were, not as I wished them to be."

Gastric bypass surgery is an operation used to cure morbid obesity and the many health problems it causes. The stomach is divided into a smaller upper pouch and a larger lower "remnant" pouch by the use of surgical staples. The small intestine is re-arranged to allow both pouches to stay connected to it so food can bypass part of it. The procedure results in a drastic reduction in the volume of the stomach, an altered physiological and psychological reaction to food, and a reduced chance of disease.

Most people who have gastric bypass surgery quickly begin to lose weight and continue to do so for up to 12 months. The growing popularity of gastric bypass surgery is not only due to the dream of getting rid of excess weight, but also because of the public's exposure to it from celebrities like Star Jones and Al Roker.