Teens Battle Diabetes After Weight Loss Surgery

Teens Battle Diabetes After Weight Loss Surgery

Researchers from the University of California have recently completed a study showing how teens with diabetes are finding a myriad of benefits, thanks to their weight loss surgery. Many parents feel that weight loss surgery should only be conducted on adults, but teens with obesity issues are at a higher risk for diabetes. The study has shown that teens that have type II diabetes and got weight loss surgery actually were able to reverse this type of diabetes because of their weight loss surgery. Since diabetes poses such risks as nerve damage, kidney failure and liver failure, it isn’t a surprise that more will be interested in the benefits.

Benefits of Losing Weight on Diabetes

The reason weight loss surgery is recommended for teens who have type II diabetes, is because weight loss can help eliminate some of this disease’s common side effects. In fact, obesity is one of the leading causes of diabetes, especially in children and teens. The most common weight loss procedure performed for diabetes patients is the gastric bypass known as Roux-en-Y. This procedure minimizes the size of the stomach with a small pouch attached to the small intestine. This allows for only a small amount of food to be absorbed and leads to weight loss. It helps diabetes patients by helping them lose weight and battle the disease.

The Study

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California. It included 78 obese teenagers, with 67 of them not getting weight loss surgery and 11 of them getting the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure. Throughout the study, researchers took note of the patient’s weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and other diabetes side effects. They found that the patients who had the weight loss surgery showed benefits, while the group of teenagers without the surgery showed no difference in weight or with their side effects and symptoms of diabetes.

Caution and Warnings

One thing researchers want to make apparent, is that while the study was successful, weight loss surgery should not be known as a cure for diabetes. It should also not be viewed as a way to replace proper lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise. The patients that got the surgery continued working hard to lose weight, such as exercising regularly and eating right.

There is no doubt that from this study, it showed diabetes can be lessened in its severity with the help of weight loss, including with individuals that get gastric bypass surgery.