Weight-Loss Surgery Can Help Control Diabetes

Cara Stewart, RD, LDN, a member of the Penn Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery team, explains the importance of diabetes management and the impact of bariatric surgery on blood sugar control.

November is American Diabetes Month as designated by the American Diabetes Association. It is a time to raise awareness about diabetes, its potentially serious complications and effective management strategies.

For people with diabetes, it is important to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range to prevent damage to blood vessels and nerves. Properly managing blood sugar levels involves making healthful food choices, being physically active, and using medications as prescribed. For people with diabetes and obesity, bariatric surgery may be an option to improve and potentially cure diabetes.

A recent meta-analysis of data published in The American Journal of Medicine reveals the significant impact of bariatric surgery on type 2 diabetes. According to the data, type 2 diabetes was resolved in 84 percent of patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery. For these patients, blood sugar often normalized within days or weeks after surgery, even before they lost significant amounts of weight. Type 2 diabetes was resolved in 48 percent of patients who underwent adjustable gastric banding surgery. For these patients, their type 2 diabetes resolved following post-operative weight loss.

A team of researchers at Penn Medicine is currently conducting a National Institutes of Health funded-study to determine if bariatric surgery, either gastric bypass or adjustable gastric banding surgery, is more effective than lifestyle modification at reducing weight and ultimately treating type 2 diabetes.

To learn more about the Penn Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Program, please visit www.PennMedicine.org/bariatrics.

- Cara Stewart, RD, LDN