Sunday, December 2, 2012

Is Weight Loss Surgery A Good Option In The Diabetes Fight?


Weight loss in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes is encouraged by the medical profession when the patient is overweight or obese, less fat means less insulin to worry about, right?  In a recent New York Times article investigated previous studies and emerging research on this topic.  In March, a previous article in the paper discussed weight loss surgery as an effective treatment option.  These studies followed subjects for less than two years and were quite small.   

According to the journal Obesity Surgery, 1,000 diabetics were tracked for ten years.  While diabetes in these patients "went away" for a period of time, the disease still came back (even in the patients that didn't regain any weight post surgery).

"The researchers found that three factors were particularly good predictors of who was likely to have a relapse of diabetes."

Those most likely to have a relapse of the condition had poor blood sugar control, had diabetes for a period of time (years were not specified), and were taking insulin.  

“But almost universally, patients lose weight after weight loss surgery, and that in and of itself may have so many health benefits.”


Source:

O'Connor, Anahad. "Weight Loss Surgery May Not Combat Diabetes Long-Term." Well. The New York Times, 11 2012. Web. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/weight-loss-surgery-may-not-combat-diabetes-long-term/?ref=health>.