Weight Loss Surgery a Boost to Better Health

Some people who need to lose a lot of weight and just can't seem to do it the natural way often turn to weight-loss surgery. But are the results long-lasting or do people who lose weight after surgery gain it back?

Lisa Streb is loving her new, thinner body. She said she owes it all to her weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery.

"I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. I'm sorry I didn't do it when I was younger and had more fun with this new life. The rest of my life is in front of me and there's nothing to stop me at this point," Streb told CBN News.

Like most people who undergo bariatric surgery, Streb lost most of her weight in the first year after the procedure. But now it's been three years since her surgery and she has managed to keep the weight off.

"It's just been a completely new life for me, and I just embraced it and just enjoy every day of it now," she said.

Dr. Anita Courcoulas, with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, studied more than 2,000 people who underwent one of two types of weight-loss surgery.

She discovered many success stories, like Streb's, three years after the procedure.

"There was substantial weight change following both bariatric procedures at three years after surgery, and we also saw improvements in diabetes, lipids, and blood pressure at the three-year time point as well," Courcoulas told CBN News.

The patients lost on average about one-fourth of their initial weight and about half saw improvement in their diabetes.

Blood pressure improved in almost everyone. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study's authors say while there were improvements in weight loss and other health outcomes, they were less than what has been shown in prior studies.