Weight loss surgery could prevent type 2 diabetes

Weight loss surgery – also known as bariatic surgery – may dramatically reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, the study, conducted at King’s College London, found bariatic surgery to be effective in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes among obese patients.
Diabetes and obesity
Professor Martin Gulliford and colleagues noted that very few studies previously examined whether weight loss surgery can prevent diabetes developing in obese patients.
The team analysed UK Clinical Practise Research Datalink health records, identifying 2,167 obese adults without diabetes who had either undergone a gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy or gastric handling.
They also followed 2,167 obese individuals who had not received any weight loss surgery.
Study findings
38 cases of diabetes were found among the patients who had weight loss surgery, while 177 cases of diabetes were diagnosed in overweight people who had not received treatment.
Even after accounting for other factors such as smoking and high cholesterol, which are known to influence diabetes, the team found weight loss surgery reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes among the participants by 80 per cent.
“Our results suggest that bariatric surgery may be a highly effective method of preventing the onset of new diabetes in men and women with severe obesity,” said Gulliford.
“We need to understand how weight loss surgery can be used, together with interventions to increase physical activity and promote healthy eating, as part of an overall diabetes prevention strategy.”
Cutting type 2 diabetes rates
A big expansion is currently being considered by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence to cut rates of type 2 diabetes, with new draft guidelines arguing those with a body mass index of 35 should be considered for weight loss surgery.