Weight Loss Surgery Success
The success of weight loss surgery [WLS]
is not easy to measure. There are few studies into the long-term success
of weight loss surgery patients, making it difficult to get precise figures
on effectiveness.
|
|
Success rate claims vary wildly, and each measures "surgical
success" differently. Many studies claim success when patients
maintain any weight loss, according to the Weight Loss Surgery Information
Center.
Among other weight loss surgery studies/claims
are the following:
|
- A 1985 study published in Surgery that
found 76 percent of patients failed to maintain weight loss 30 months
after vertical banded gastroplasty, the most effective operation of
this type.
- Weight Information Network finding that
"although most [weight loss surgery] patients regain 5 to 10 percent
of the weight they lost, many maintain a long-term weight loss of about
100 pounds." But, it admitted, "the success of WLS depends
on the patient's willingness to adopt long-term lifestyle of healthy
eating and regular physical activity."
- A 1999 gastric bypass study that found
only 7 percent of patients kept off all the weight they initially lost,
only slightly higher than the stated success rate for dieting, which
is 5 percent.
None of this should be taken to mean that
weight loss surgery isn't the best option for severely obese patients,
simply that surgery isn't a miracle solution for weight reduction.
Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery - Reminder
Bariatric weight loss surgery is not an easy option to lose weight. It's
a serious surgical procedure whose long-term weight loss success depends
on a patient's commitment to diet and behavior modification for life,
along with exercise for weight control.
See also:
Return to Facts
About Surgery for Weight Loss
|
|
|
com