Weighing up the benefits of weight-loss surgery

Jan 28, 2010 2:18 PM

For some people who are very overweight (obese), surgery to aid weight loss can be life-saving. But it’s not risk-free. Weighing up the pros and cons of serious surgery is hard to do. But new research just made it that bit clearer.

Researchers have used a large amount of data about weight, lifespan, and gastric bypass surgery to design a decision-support tool that can tell people their likely gains from surgery, and risks.

Some of the results seem unsurprising. The younger you are, the more likely you are to benefit. That’s because you have more time to get the benefits of your lower weight on your health. And the heavier you are, the more likely you are to benefit.

Men get slightly less benefit from gastric bypass surgery, especially at older ages. That’s despite men being more likely to die early from conditions related to being overweight, such as heart attacks.

The headline figures are that a woman age 42, with a body mass index (BMI) of 45, could expect to live an extra three years if she had a gastric bypass. A man of about the same age and BMI could expect an extra two and a half years of life. Most people with a BMI of 40 or more (classed as ‘morbidly obese’) would benefit from surgery. People with a BMI of 40 or more could expect at least one year of extra life, up to the age of 74 for women or 66 for men.

Women under 60 and men under 50 had very little risk of death from weight loss surgery. But in total, just over 1 in 1000 people died during or soon after surgery.

What you need to know. All surgery has risks and benefits. But the health benefits of gaining a healthy weight through weight loss surgery are likely to outweigh risks for most people who are morbidly obese.

—Anna Sayburn, patient editor, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

Find out why some people gain weight more easily than others and take a look at our Ratings for 11 treatments for obesity (subscribers only), including gastric bypass and gastric banding.