Diabetes and obesity shown to benefit from bariatric surgery

Scientists have shown that obese people who suffer from type 2 diabetes can benefit from a process called laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in substantially improving their control of blood sugar levels.
The interim study involving 47 patients, which was presented at a meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, showed that after two years 95 per cent of participants achieved remission or improvement in their HbA1c values.
The patients that experienced remission saw a 22.8 per cent reduction in their body mass index (BMI) as compared to an 18 per cent reduction for those that achieved improvement or those who had no change. For the remission group, the average duration of diabetes was around four years, as compared to a 6.7-year average for those who achieved an improvement.
The study claimed that bariatric surgery is now becoming more recognised as a potential treatment for helping people achieve weight loss that is both significant and sustainable. Lead researcher Ted Okerso, from the University of California at Irvine, said “We know that if we intervene early when there are still functional beta cells there is more likely a chance for remission.”
He added “It’s important that we all know that diet and weight-loss lifestyle changes are foundational to the treatment of type 2 diabetes. But we also know that these recommendations are difficult for patients to achieve.”