Go Ad-Free
logoThe People's Perspective on Medicine

Lasting Benefits from Weight Loss Surgery

Gastric bypass surgery can have lasting benefits for weight, metabolism, and overall health, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. There were approximately 1,100 patients in the study that lasted 6 years. Around 400 received gastric bypass surgery; another group of about 400 people wanted surgery but were put on a long-term waiting list to serve as a control group. The third group consisted of about 300 equally obese patients who had not expressed any interest in bypass surgery. After 6 years, those who had undergone surgery had average weight loss of about 28 percent of initial body weight. The people in the control groups did not lose weight.
Roughly two-thirds of the bariatric surgery patients who had begun the study with type 2 diabetes saw it go into remission. In the control groups, fewer than one tenth had that outcome. At the end of 6 years, the bypass group had lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol and higher HDL. Such metabolic measures worsened in the control groups.
Bariatric surgery does have complications, and there were more unplanned hospitalizations among the patients who had surgery. On the whole, however, the researchers concluded that the benefits outweighed the risks.
[JAMA, Sept. 19, 2012]

Rate this article
star-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-emptystar-fullstar-empty
5- 1 rating
About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
Tired of the ads on our website?

Now you can browse our website completely ad-free for just $5 / month. Stay up to date on breaking health news and support our work without the distraction of advertisements.

Browse our website ad-free
Join over 150,000 Subscribers at The People's Pharmacy

We're empowering you to make wise decisions about your own health, by providing you with essential health information about both medical and alternative treatment options.