A recent article on Mass Device reports on a study that strongly suggests that bariatric surgery lowers the risk heart-related problems in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. The study looked at over 25,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and found that patients who had undergone weight-loss operations were less likely to experience a major cardiovascular event. While shedding significant amounts of weight is sure to boost a patient’s self-image and confidence, the most important benefit is that bariatric surgery minimizes the risk of the many serious health problems associated with obesity. The result is a life that is not just longer, but freer of illness and pain and, therefore, a great deal better.

Obesity has long been associated with a massive list of debilitating or life-threatening illnesses and conditions such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and more. As far as is known, weight loss surgery itself does not immediately reduce the risks for these complications, but instead facilitates the weight loss that limits the risk of such events. Weight loss surgeries such as sleeve gastrectomy procedures are believed to have positive effects on certain hormones that drive hunger, enabling patients to shed significant amounts of weight far easier than they may have been able to before surgery. In doing so, patients are generally able to make healthier choices in their diet, which allows them to begin the process of permanently defeating obesity.

Just because the immediate health benefits of weight loss are so significant doesn’t mean that some of its offshoot pluses aren’t almost as important. While individual weight loss varies dramatically from patient to patient after surgery, the loss is typically substantial and, in most cases, enables patients to lead far more active lifestyles. Patients who previously had trouble taking even a few steps may now find that they can move regularly without losing their breath. Considering the very significant health benefits of exercise in regards to issues such as blood pressure and blood sugar as well as its many positive impacts on the quality of life, the result is a virtuous cycle that can, as the old saying goes, add years to a life and life to those years. Of course, patients will often find that they are much happier with their appearance after weight loss surgery too.