Weight loss surgery ‘can offer long-term health benefits’

A new study has demonstrated the practical and clinical benefits associated with providing weight loss surgery to obese people.

The National Bariatric Surgery Registry report collated information on more than 18,000 weight-loss operations in 137 UK hospitals between 2010 and 2013, noting that bariatric surgery is both a safe and effective treatment option.

Moreover, it was demonstrated that surgery can not only deliver weight loss benefits, but can also prevent associated medical complications, improve quality of life and greatly reduce costs for the NHS.

More than 70 percent of patients were said to suffer from functional impairment, meaning they could not climb three flights of stairs without resting. This was no longer the case for 56 percent of those patients post-surgery.

Richard Welbourn, consultant surgeon and chair of the National Bariatric Surgery Registry, said: "Our data shows that there is great benefit from bariatric surgery for all the diseases studied. In particular, the effect on diabetes has important implications for the NHS."

Bariatric surgery is likely to become a more mainstream therapy option in the coming years, due to the rising prevalence of obesity across the UK.