May 25, 2023 — Are we ready for a re-think of obesity and metabolic health? Ready to change the conversation about obesity medicines and bariatric surgery? Sergio Santoro, Scott Shikora, and Ricardo Cohen certainly think so. Writing in Obesity Surgery, they say it’s time to say goodbye to bariatric surgery and move on to the framework of metabolic surgery. […]
November 30, 2021 — Following closely on a landmark study of bariatric surgery and liver fat, today we have a new RCT comparing the effects of gastric sleeve and gastric bypass. In short, these two procedures work equally well. After one year, patients with both procedures had about a 20 percent reduction in liver fat. The other endpoint was […]
October 7, 2021 — Well-controlled data for surgical procedures is hard to come by. This is especially true for bariatric surgery, where strong feelings come into play and thus, people aren’t willing to accept random assignments to a surgical procedure. So a new study in JAMA Surgery that gives us clarity about the safety of gastric sleeve operations is […]
July 10, 2021 — Most people – even many healthcare professionals – simply don’t get it. Because the popular concept of bariatric surgery is that it prevents people from eating – just by altering your gut. But the reality is that it works very differently. Bariatric surgery changes the signaling between the brain and the gut in ways that […]
December 4, 2020 — Type 2 diabetes can be a brutal disease. It often, but not always, goes hand in hand with obesity. Thus, both of these conditions are rising throughout the world, exacting a terrible toll on human health. Once again, though, research tells us that a good option exists to turn this back for many people. A […]
June 17, 2020 — A randomized controlled trial (RCT) in surgery is quite a challenge. For good reason, people are reluctant to sign up for a study in which they might randomly get surgery. Or not. Surgery is a big decision and leaving it to chance doesn’t sit well with most people. Yet an RCT is the very best […]
December 20, 2019 — One and done is a lovely turn of phrase. It’s also one of those sweet little lies about dealing with obesity. “You can lose the weight and keep it off for good.” That’s the seductive promise of a currently trendy weight loss app. It’s also implicit in the false positioning of bariatric surgery as a […]
November 18, 2019 — Let’s talk about two different kinds of bypass surgeries. Both of them are the subject of studies presented at the American Heart Association’s scientific meeting this past weekend. But that’s where the similarities end. Operation C We’ll call the first of these procedures Operation C. More than 200,000 people have these surgeries done every year. […]
July 17, 2017 — Lose weight and gain telomeres with bariatric surgery. It’s not exactly compelling ad copy, but it might be an important insight into the benefits of bariatric surgery. Researchers from the Geisinger Obesity Research Institute have found longer telomeres in 60% of people three to five years after they had gastric bypass surgery. Telomeres: An Important […]
May 31, 2017 — Forget the Biggest Loser. Perhaps we should be paying more attention to the smallest losers. We mean the microbes in our guts that serve to digest all of that food we eat. New research is making it clear that the gut microbiome changes profoundly after the most effective widely-used weight loss surgery – gastric bypass. Profound Microbiome […]
