Selasa, 07 Agustus 2012

Bariatric Surgery Patients Need Not Worry About Developing Fragile Bones


Seeing how significant weight loss is typically linked to decreasing bone density, most people fear that undergoing bariatric surgery will leave them with fragile bones, thus making them more vulnerable to accidents and injuries.

However, a new study led by specialists working at the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit from the University of Southampton argues that, as far as the first few years after such a major intervention are concerned, formerly obese patients are quite unlikely to experience a severely increased risk of fractures.

By comparing a group of patients who underwent bariatric surgery to a control group, the scientists found that, all things considered (age, sex, body mass index and lifestyle), the differences between these people in terms of bone frailty were minimal.

More precisely, although those who lost significant amounts of weight as a result of bariatric surgery had somewhat lower bone densities, the end results indicated that the differences were not all that great as to cause worries.

More so since this proneness to fractures was only identifiable during the first 2 to 5 years after the surgery had taken place, and not on the long run.

In the News Release reporting on these findings, the University of Southampton quotes Dr. Nicholas Harvey, who argued that, “Overall, for the first few post-operative years, these results are reassuring for patients undergoing bariatric surgery, but do not exclude a more protracted adverse influence on skeletal health.”

Given the fact that, both in the US and in Europe, a lot of people are presently suffering from morbid obesity, this research can be argued to bring some much needed good news, as perhaps more individuals will decide to look into the possibility of resorting to bariatric surgery in order to tackle their weight problems.

As Dr. Nicholas Harvey puts it, “Obesity is an increasing public health problem worldwide, which affects between 15 and 20 per cent of Europeans; it has been recognised that surgical treatment is the most effective route to weight loss for many with morbid obesity.”

Via: Bariatric Surgery Patients Need Not Worry About Developing Fragile Bones

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