Weight loss surgery helps in diabetes remission

With the possible health benefits of weight loss surgery of continuing focus, a new study has claimed that such an operation called laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (or LSG) can offer benefits in alleviating type 2 diabetes and its complications as compared to more traditional therapies.
The research, published in Archives of Surgery, examined 60 patients who were morbidly obese and had developed type 2 diabetes, half of which received LSG – which involves taking out a major part of the stomach, leaving a small pouch that fills up quickly when you are eating – while the rest had conventional medical treatment. The medical treatment involved therapies such as consultations with healthcare professionals, drug treatments, lifestyle modifications, regular physical activity and dieting.
There was shown to be an 80 per cent remission rate after 18 months for patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting that LSG was proving effective in the treatment of those patients. The surgery reduced their average body mass index (BMI) from 41.3 kg/m2 prior to surgery down to 28.3 kg/m2 after 18 months. On the other hand, the other group saw their average BMI going up from 39 kg/m2 at the start of the study to 39.8 kg/m2 after 18 months.
It was reported that they found “significant differences regarding excess weight loss, the decreases in BMI and triglycerides, and the increase of high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol.”