Diets Don't Work in the Long Term

Sadly, with any form of substantial weight loss through dieting, such as 10% of your weight, historical data would prove that weight always rebounds back to where you started. The Swedish Obesity Study exemplifies this with a 15 year follow up of 2000 obese individuals who could not maintain any significant weight loss over 15 years despite aggressive medical input throughout their lives. This is what we all witness in real life.

In contrast, bariatric surgery performed on another 2000 with the same starting weight proved that weight reduction was permanent over the 15 year period. Most importantly, these patients had a far greater quality of life and fewer medical problems such as hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnoea, depression, pneumonia, joint issues when compared to the non-surgical group. Medical costs to the patient were less in the surgery group.

Bariatric surgery has had a bad reputation suggesting weight rebounds after the operation and indeed that is the case, however 99% of the population who undergo bariatric surgery maintain more than 20% of their total weight loss. This is an outstanding achievement for the operation. Patients usually have their lowest weight 12-18 months after surgery and due to adaption with stretching of the gastric pouch the weight can increase a little after that point in time but is generally always significantly less than the starting weight. Bariatric surgery has been shown to improve survival and to give the patient a much more enjoyable and healthier life, avoiding doctors and unnecessary illnesses that keep them away from work and quality family life.