Weight Loss Surgery Helps Type 2 Diabetics: Research

Weight loss surgery, combined with lifestyle changes, brings considerable health improvement in people with type 2 diabetes, a research by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center showed.

Researchers conducted the study on 61 people with type 2 diabetes. The respondents were aged between 25 and 55, and more than 40 percent had class 1 obesity with body mass indexes between 30 and 39. The participants were randomly divided into three groups. The first group underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery and lifestyle changes while the second group had laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) surgery along with diet and exercise changes. However, the third group received only behavioral counseling several times a month.

The researchers examined glucose level and intake of medications in the participants after three years of the treatment, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Surgery on Wednesday.

At the end of the third year, the study results showed that 40 percent of participants who had gastric bypass surgery and 29 percent of those who underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding achieved partial or complete remission from diabetes. But, no such effects were seen in people who received only counseling, the researchers wrote.

“More than two-thirds of those in the RYGB group and nearly half of the LAGB group did not require any medications for T2DM (type 2 diabetes) treatment at 3 years,” the researchers wrote.

According to the latest statistics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29.1 million people or 9.3 percent of the people in the U.S. have diabetes. Of these, 27.8 percent people are undiagnosed cases.

The risk factors for the type 2 diabetes include a family history of diabetes, racial or ethnic background, old age, obesity and inactivity, according to HealthDay. Sedentary lifestyle and obesity can also lead to insulin resistance resulting in type 2 diabetes.