A new study confirms that weight lost after undergoing
weight-loss surgery appears to remain off for 10 years or longer.
The study's conclusions suggest people interested in some kind
of bariatric surgery can expect to lose a significant amount of weight and be
able to keep it off for an extended period of time.
Past studies concluded weight loss surgery is an effective treatment
for obesity, but there is not a lot of data regarding the long-lasting effects
of such surgeries. This is a notable study because researchers followed
patients for 10 years after their surgeries.
The research team for the two-part study examined results from
1,800 people who underwent gastric bypass surgery. The team compared weight
changes from this group to weight changes of 5,300 obese veterans who had not
undergone any formal weight-loss treatment or surgery.
Gastric bypass surgery is a procedure that reduces the size of
the stomach and adjusting the small intestine so much of it is bypassed in
digestion. People who have this surgery feel full much more quickly than
normal. In addition, gastric bypass appears to change gut bacteria, gut hormones,
and metabolism.
One year into the study, individuals who had undergone bypass
surgery had lost on average 31 percent of their body weight. Non-surgical
participants lost an average of 1 percent. A decade after the study began,
researchers were able to review data from 564 of the 1,800 initial patients.
Only 19 patients had regained significant weight. The surgery group weighed 21
percent less than the non-surgical group.
The researchers then compared adjustable gastric banding, sleeve
gastrectomy, and gastric bypass surgeries. Gastric banding involves placing a
band at the top of the stomach to produce a pouch and reduce the stomach size.
The sleeve gastrectomy involves removing much of the stomach and creating a
banana-shaped sleeve. All three of these procedures result in patients feeling
fuller faster.
Four years post-surgery, people who had gastric bypass had
reduced their weight by 28 percent, sleeve gastrecomy patients 18 percent,
gastric banding 11 percent.
Most participants were white and male. They averaged 52 years in
age.
JAMA Surgery published the study Aug. 31, 2016.
The study reveals that gastric bypass produces more weight loss
than the other two weight loss surgeries, and that the weight loss could be
sustained over a long term.
All other things being equal, the gastric bypass surgery seems
to be the best option for significant, long-term weight loss.