Losing Weight Can Resolve Other Health Problems

As bad for your health as obesity itself can be, when it’s combined with other dangerous conditions, your health is at an even greater risk.

These chronic or long-term conditions, such as diabetes, are called comorbidities. A comorbidity is one of multiple diseases or conditions that affect the same person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People who are morbidly obese often have multiple chronic health problems.

Weight loss surgery now is recognized as an option to help you treat not only obesity, but also other chronic health conditions that accompany it. 

The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) says metabolic and bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for diabetes if you are affected by obesity. 

In about 90 percent of patients with diabetes related to obesity, weight loss surgery lowers blood sugars, improves diabetes-related health problems, and reduces the amount of medication you need. “Almost everyone with Type 2 Diabetes sees a big improvement or even complete remission after surgery,” ASMBS reports.

Weight loss surgery can help improve other comorbidities, including:

• Arthritis: Weight loss can ease the pain of arthritis by relieving pressure on your joints. In fact, for every pound you lose, you’ll remove four pounds of pressure on your knees, according to a study in Arthritis & Rheumatism. That means losing 50 pounds removes 200 pounds of pressure on your knees.
• Asthma
• Fatty liver deposits
• Heart disease: If you’re obese, your chances of dying from heart disease are reduced by 50 percent if you have bariatric surgery, according to ASMBS.
• High blood pressure: A 2014 study looked at nearly 50,000 bariatric surgery patients. It showed that half no longer suffered from high blood pressure following surgery, and many others showed vast improvement, according to the study published in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 
• High cholesterol: Researchers found that high cholesterol was resolved or improved in more than 70 percent of the 22,000 weight loss surgery patients in their study, the Obesity Action Coalition reports. 
• Reflux
• Sleep apnea: Weight loss is a well-documented treatment for sleep apnea, reports the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). One recent study found that the severity of sleep apnea in obese patients is reduced by 71 percent following bariatric surgery, the NSF reports. 
• Urinary stress
• Venous stasis disease
• Cancer: Death due to cancer is reduced by 60 percent for obese patients who have bariatric surgery according to the ASMBS.

For more information about how weight loss surgery could help resolve your chronic health conditions, talk with your doctor or visit Premier Weight Loss Solutions to learn more.