Obese people with diabetes who had gastric banding surgery lost a significant amount of weight, bringing their diabetes under control. Those were the findings of an Australian study of 50 people who were followed for one year after their surgery.

Their average weight was just over 300 pounds before they underwent adjustable gastric band surgery via laparoscopy. One year later, their average weight was 242 pounds; their BMIs dropped from 48.2 to 38.7.

There were significant improvements in all measures of glucose control, with remission of diabetes in 64 percent of the patients and major improvement in glucose control in 26 percent. Only five patients failed to improve their glucose control. HbA1c dropped from 7.8 before surgery to 6.2 a year later. These improvements in diabetes were related to increased insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function.

The patients also showed significant improvement in their triglyceride levels, HDL cholesterol, hypertension, sleep, depression, appearance evaluation and health-related quality of life.

The study's authors concluded that this surgery should be considered an early intervention in obese people with type 2 diabetes because it is effective in managing the broad range of health problems they experience.

Related information Latest developments

Source:  Dixon JB, O'Brien PE. Health outcomes of severely obese type 2 diabetic subjects 1 year after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Diabetes Care, Feb. 1, 2002;25:358-363. (Abs.)