Bariatric Surgery May Help Severely Obese Teens

It’s estimated that, in 2004, one in six adolescents in the United States was obese. With obesity putting kids and teens at greater risk for serious health complications as they age, experts are becoming increasingly concerned about possible solutions for childhood obesity. A new study suggests that weight loss surgery may be a major part of that solution.

Researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University followed 50 obese teenagers aged 14 to 18 for two years. Half of the teenagers underwent gastric banding, while half were asked to commit to an individualized diet and exercise plan designed for weight loss.

After two years, the teens fitted with the adjustable gastric band had lost nearly 11 times as much weight as the teens who had only made lifestyle changes. The gastric banding patients lost an average of 76 pounds and 79% of their excess body weight. The remaining teens only lost an average of 6.6 pounds and 13% of their excess weight.

Researchers did note that it “proved challenging” to keep the teenagers in the lifestyle group and their parents committed to the trial for the full two years, a finding that will come as no surprise to anyone who has attempted to stick to a diet plan for a long period of time.

In addition to helping teenagers lose weight, the study also found that weight loss surgery was affective in treating various obesity-related health complications, including metabolic syndrome. At the beginning of the study, nine of the would-be gastric banding patients and 10 of would-be dieters suffered from metabolic syndrome. After two years, the problem had been resolved in all of the gastric banding patients and in four of the subjects in the lifestyle group.