Obese Type 2 diabetics who have exercised regularly, avoid sugary food and drinks, eat healthy and take their maintenance medicine but still are frustrated over failure to achieve ideal blood sugar levels may have another option available to them. A new study found that for such type of patients, bariatric surgery could be the silver bullet.
The new research by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which had 61 Type 2 diabetic patients with weigh problems as respondents, discovered that when some of them underwent bariatric surgery, there was a significant improvement on their condition. Some had remission of their diabetes, while others reported the chronic ailment was gone, reports Tech Times.
In contrast, no such improvements were reported by those who relied solely on lifestyle changes. The study adds to the growing number of researches that diminish the role of some lifestyle changes in health management. Recently, one study said that no amount of exercise could reverse the damage caused by too much sitting.
The University of Pittsburgh study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, confirmed previous studies that the weight loss procedure could improve the conditions of obese or overweight Type 2 diabetics better than lifestyle changes. About half of the respondents, aged 25 to 55, were classified as having class 1 obesity or people with body mass indices from 30 to 39.
They were randomly assigned to undergo lifestyle intervention for one year, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. For two years, all were offered lower-intensity lifestyle intervention that focused on behavioral counseling several times a month.
At the end of the third year of the study, 40 percent of those who had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and 29 percent of those who went through laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding reported some level of remission from diabetes. The diabetes of four people from these two groups entirely disappeared, reports Reuters.
The researchers, led by Dr. Anita Courcoulas, are planning to do more studies to have more definite conclusions by pooling information from similar researches done in the U.S. The study spells good news for 29 million Americans with diabetes, some of whom are frustrated that despite lifestyle changes and sacrificing a lot, management of this chronic diseases sometimes appear to be a losing battle.