Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Weight-loss surgery has become a popular alternative for those having trouble with conventional dieting.
But the procedure may also help other conditions.
Bariatric surgery includes several different procedures performed on obese patients to reduce the size of their stomachs. Experts have known that the surgery also treats Type 2 diabetes.
Now, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine gives us a better idea of how effectively it works.
The study followed more than 3,400 people ages 37 through 60 for more than 15 years.
Some of the people had bariatric surgery, while others did not.
The study found that although weight loss alone helped prevent diabetes in obese people, bariatric surgery reduced the long-term occurrence of Type 2 diabetes by 78 percent in the patients.
The researchers concluded that bariatric surgery is twice as efficient as lifestyle changes in preventing Type 2 diabetes in the obese.
