Study: Best Options to Treat Obesity

By Your Health Magazine

Obesity is a life-threatening condition impacting millions of people around the world. In the US 1 in 3 adults falls into the category of being overweight, 2 in 5 adults fall into the category of obesity, and 1 in 11 adults fall into the most limiting category of severe obesity.

A person who is obese is at a much higher risk of developing health complications, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. There is no doubt, then, that aggressive measures are necessary to help people find relief.

A recent study from the Department of Medicine at New York University Grossman School of Medicine sheds surprising light on which weight loss solution is the best for patients. With 42% of people in the US suffering from obesity, it claims, these are the effectiveness rates of various methods to treat obesity:

Behavioral changes, such as dieting and exercise, allowed people to benefit from between 5% and 10% of weight loss.
GLP-1 medications and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptides attain 8% to 21% weight loss.
Bariatric surgery achieves a reliable 25% to 30% weight loss.

By far, bariatric surgery proves to be the most effective option for weight loss. This study found that those who were obese were at a much higher rate of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, premature death, and sleep disorders. Yet, the changes in their weight loss comprehensively changed these risks.

Bariatric surgery is the most effective at achieving these goals. It is also important to look further to determine why this particular method of weight loss is so important.

Bariatric Surgery Patients Are Less Likely to Die

Another study, one which spanned 40 years of monitoring 22,000 people who underwent bariatric surgery in Utah, found that across all four types of bariatric weight loss surgeries, 16% of participants were less likely to die than those who did not have a procedure.

That reduction in death rates means longer life, and researchers believe it is because bariatric surgery helped patients reduce their risk for early death due to conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Cardiovascular-related deaths in this group of people were 29% lower.
Various cancer deaths dropped by 43% in this group of people.
Diabetes-related deaths dropped by 72%.

Bariatric surgery is not only effective, it is life-saving. These numbers are backed up by other studies as well.

Disease Remission

In a 10-year study in Sweden, doctors found that people who underwent weight loss surgery were less likely to suffer premature deaths, supporting other studies. It also found that a large number of those patients went into diabetes remission within two years and remained there at 10 years.

Statistics on Obesity

Obesity is not just a problem in the United States but is a global health concern. The World Health Organization shares the following:

1 in 8 people around the world were living with obesity in 2022.
Since 1990, the worldwide adult obesity rate has doubled, and that of adolescents has quadrupled.
2.5 billion adults were overweight in 2022, with 890 million people living with obesity.

The World Health Organization states that obesity is those who have a BMI of greater than 30 as adults. Leading bariatric surgeons have begun performing bariatric surgeries on patients with BMIs of at least 30.

This is a change in the treatment methodology compared with the previous recommendations by health experts. Previously, the ASMBS (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) recommended performing the surgery on only those with a BMI of at least 35 or 40. This change reflects the new understanding of how powerful and long-lasting bariatric surgery is for the majority of people.

Why Is Bariatric Surgery the Best for Weight Loss?

Bariatric surgery is one of several types of weight loss surgeries that change the function of the digestive system. For many people who have this procedure, diet and exercise alone have not been effective, or they are not able to maintain the weight loss long-term. This is not necessarily due to a person’s lack of desire to eat less or the use of a wrong diet.

Rather, science indicates that when a person’s BMI reaches 35 or higher, the chance of losing weight and returning to a normal body weight for a lasting amount of time is under 1%. Dieting and exercise are not enough to combat the mental health and physical disease of obesity, but weight loss surgery can offer help.

Bariatric surgery forces a change in people. They are able to eat less physically, which forces the need to learn what to do and how to eat to avoid complications. More so, weight loss is more effective and easier in people who have bariatric surgery because it is easier to learn how to change your diet and stick with the new diet.

Bariatric surgery is a life-long change and one that leads to numerous health benefits for those who are obese or severely obese. Yet, like all types of medical conditions, it is critical to choose the right provider and to follow through with the bariatric screening process to achieve these benefits.