Bariatric surgery is an option open to obese people who are 100 pounds or more overweight. Considered a drastic measure, the various procedures decrease overall food intake to help patients lose weight.
But a new study says non-surgical methods could be just as effective.
The research showed that severely obese patients who lost significant amounts of weight by changing their diet and exercise habits were just as successful in keeping the weight off long term as those who went under the knife.
Researchers followed a surgical and non-surgical group who had kept their weight off for an average of five years.
During the two-year study they found both groups regained an average of about eight pounds, but researchers say the surgical group reporter greater fat and fast food consumption, less control over their eating and higher incidents of depression than the group who had changed their lifestyle and behaviour.
It is difficult for patients to have bariatric surgery in British Columbia covered under the Medical Services Plan because only a few surgeons in the province perform the procedures and the waiting list is very long.
Privately, patients can pay for expensive lap band surgery which is effective and minimally invasive, but as this study shows, surgery is not a magic bullet.
More dietary and lifestyle counseling for patients is necessary to make long-term control easier.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Dr. Rhonda Low
