Study Finds Weight Loss Surgery Bests Exercise, Diet for Diabetes Treatment
With growing obesity rates strongly linked to the rise of type 2 diabetes cases across the country, doctors are looking for ways to help patients shed pounds while bringing their blood sugar levels under control. A small-scale study recently released in JAMA shows that weight loss surgery may provide the assistance required to help successfully treat the symptoms of diabetes.
Researchers found that while diet and exercise are helpful in diabetes management, weight loss surgery can prove to be even more beneficial. About two thirds of the patients in the study who underwent a particular type of gastric bypass procedure did not require diabetes medication three years after surgery. Of those who underwent adjustable gastric banding, a third no longer needed medications, researchers found.
The study was undertaken by the University of Pittsburg Medical Center. It involved 61 obese people who had all been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. All patients were between the ages of 22 and 55. Researchers broke the main group into the two surgical groups and a third that simply followed lifestyle and exercise changes.
Researchers found that patients in the surgical groups showed much stronger improvements over time than the lifestyle-only group. Roughly 40 percent of the gastric bypass group and 29 percent of the adjustable band patients were able to achieve complete or partial remission of diabetes symptoms. No one in the non-surgical group demonstrated signs of remission.
While bariatric surgery isn’t necessarily a panacea to cure diabetes, researchers are finding its ability to help patients control weight can have big impacts on the disease. Diabetics who are also obese are urged to speak with their personal healthcare providers for information about losing weight and better controlling the disease. Weight loss surgery may provide the solution some need to keep their blood sugar levels and possible side-effects of diabetes in check.
Researchers found that while diet and exercise are helpful in diabetes management, weight loss surgery can prove to be even more beneficial. About two thirds of the patients in the study who underwent a particular type of gastric bypass procedure did not require diabetes medication three years after surgery. Of those who underwent adjustable gastric banding, a third no longer needed medications, researchers found.
The study was undertaken by the University of Pittsburg Medical Center. It involved 61 obese people who had all been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. All patients were between the ages of 22 and 55. Researchers broke the main group into the two surgical groups and a third that simply followed lifestyle and exercise changes.
Researchers found that patients in the surgical groups showed much stronger improvements over time than the lifestyle-only group. Roughly 40 percent of the gastric bypass group and 29 percent of the adjustable band patients were able to achieve complete or partial remission of diabetes symptoms. No one in the non-surgical group demonstrated signs of remission.
While bariatric surgery isn’t necessarily a panacea to cure diabetes, researchers are finding its ability to help patients control weight can have big impacts on the disease. Diabetics who are also obese are urged to speak with their personal healthcare providers for information about losing weight and better controlling the disease. Weight loss surgery may provide the solution some need to keep their blood sugar levels and possible side-effects of diabetes in check.
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