MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A University of Minnesota study suggested Tuesday a majority of patients who undergo bariatric surgery experience effective weight loss.
Bariatric surgery procedures include gastric banding, gastric bypass, gastroplasty, biliopancreatic diversion, duodenal switch, and various other procedures, sometimes referred to as stomach stapling.
The team said a majority of bariatric surgery patients also experience improvements in diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota reviewed 136 studies, including 22,094 patients who underwent bariatric surgery, the Journal of American Medicine reported in its Oct. 13 issue.
The team found the average percentage of excess weight loss was 61.2 percent. Diabetes was completely resolved in 76.8 percent and resolved or improved in 86 percent of patients. Hyperlipidemia improved in 70 percent of patients; hypertension was resolved in 61.7 percent, and resolved or improved in 78.5 percent of patients; and obstructive sleep apnea was resolved or improved in 83.6 percent of patients.
An estimated 1.7 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese. Obesity has been associated with an elevated risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and asthma.
