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Bariatric Surgery Can Reduce Risks Of Heart Attack And Type 2 Diabetes, Study

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Dec 23, 2015 01:07 PM EST

Bariatric surgery can actually help you to improve your overall health. Compared to the control group, those who subjected themselves to bariatric surgery tended to be 70 percent less likely to suffer from a heart attack and nine times more likely to show major improvements in type 2 diabetes, according to Health Day.

"Obesity is one of the biggest health problems of our generation. Rates of cardiovascular disease, although slowly declining, are still alarmingly high while Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, affecting 3.5 million people in Britain. Finding effective ways to tackle the obesity crisis is, therefore, a key public health strategy," said lead study author Dr. Ian Douglas the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in a news release. "Whilst effective prevention is clearly needed, our findings show that as well as helping patients substantially lose weight, bariatric surgery improves serious obesity-related illnesses as well as reducing the risk of developing them."

Four-year medical records of more than 3,800 obese individuals who subjected themselves to the surgery were examined. Researchers found that their average age was 45 years, of which 81 percent were women. Comparing them to another control group of obese people who did not receive the surgery showed that the surgery could have benefits.

The bariatric surgery included "gastric band surgery, sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass". Scientists have realized that not enough obese people are agreeing for the process.

"Unfortunately, less than 1 percent of the patients who could benefit from this surgery currently receive surgery," concluded co-study author Rachel Batterham, via NorthernCalifornia.com. "This represents a major missed opportunity in terms of improving health and economic savings. Action is now needed to remedy this situation."

The study is published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

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