Obesity

Impact of bariatric surgery on health depends on type of surgery, patient characteristics
The impact of bariatric surgery on risk factors for cardiovascular disease depends on a variety of factors, including the type of surgery, sex of the patient, ethnic background, and pre-surgery body mass index, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in Annals of Surgery. MedicalXpress

Rapid reversal of diabetes after gastric banding surgery
Clinical researchers from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research and St. Vincent's Hospital have shown that a form of weight loss surgery, known as 'gastric banding', brings about reversal of diabetes in some patients, and dramatic improvement of glucose tolerance in others, within 12 weeks.

The current study, now reported online in Diabetologia, was undertaken by Professor Katherine Samaras from the Garvan Institute and St. Vincent's Hospital. It followed 15 morbidly obese patients (body mass index over 40) after gastric banding surgery. All had had type 2 diabetes for at least 5 years, and most patients required anti-diabetic medications. MedicalXpress

Baylor College of Medicine researchers find community-based weight loss intervention yields greater weight loss than self-help approach
A new randomized controlled trial conducted by Baylor College of Medicine researchers and published today as an Article in Press in The American Journal of Medicine finds that overweight and obese adults following a community-based weight loss intervention, namely Weight Watchers, lost significantly more weight than those who tried to lose weight on their own (10.1 lbs. vs. 1.3 lbs. at six months). Those in the Weight Watchers group were provided with three access routes – group meetings, mobile applications, and online tools – and further analysis found those who used all three access routes together lost the most weight. Eurekalert!