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Study proves bariatric surgery improves sex drive

22 July 2014

Study proves bariatric surgery improves sex drive

Trust a male to look into this!  But that is a very interesting finding and is just another benefit of losing significant amounts of weight with Bariatric surgery - and keeping it off.  Cheers, Steph Ulmer

Study proves bariatric surgery improves sex drive

Monday, 21 July 2014 - 6:19am IST |

Weight loss surgery can improve the testosterone (principal male sex hormone) and libido levels, proves as a study done by Mumbai bariatric surgeon. The study was accepted and will be presented in an upcoming medical conference in Canada.

Dr Sanjay Borude, bariatric surgeon, Breach Candy Hospital who conducted the study said,"This is the first attempt in India to study the link between testosterone and obesity. The study was accepted by International Federation for Surgery and Metabolic Diseases. I will be presenting it in the conference that will be held in Montreal, Canada between August 26-31."

Explaining the aim of the study, Dr Borude said that the effect of bariatric surgery on sex hormones and sexual function of morbidly obese men has been not studied well enough. "In 2008, it was partially studied in abroad. Therefore, we decided to have an Indian study," said Dr Borude.

According to Dr Borude, 19 obese men aged between 19-60 years were selected for the study who wanted to undergo bariatric surgery.

"The purpose of our study was to examine the effect of bariatric surgery-induced weight loss on total testosterone level and sexual function related to quality of life in morbidly obese men. We hypothesized that significant weight loss associated with bariatric surgery would have a positive correlation to total testosterone levels which will improve perceived sexual life," said Dr Borude.

During the study period, the selected patients were made to fill questionnaires and their testosterone levels were analysed.

"It is found that sex drive in morbidly obese men is very low and this leads to depression and vice versa. Testosterone levels were studied from the blood samples collected during the routine pre-operative tests. Patients were given the questionnaire to be filled in pre-operatively and during 3 to 6 months and 7 to 12 months period along with the blood samples. The data was formulated and we saw a positive improvement in the testosterone levels and sex drive," said Dr Borude.

Dr Borude concluded that apart from numerous health benefits of bariatric surgery including better management of blood sugar and cholestrol levels, the study proved that it can also increase the testosterone levels and enhance the sex drive.

Dr Ajay Bhandarwar, professor, general surgery, said, "International studies have shown that after the surgery, testosterone levels increase in males, but there was until now no study to prove this in Indian context. Most of the time, due to obesity, people suffer from infertility, but after the weight loss surgery we used to notice that their problems weaned away. This has been now scientifically proven in context of Asian population."

Sleeve Gastrectomy more effective than Gastric band in terms of excess weight loss and resolution of type 2 diabetes

19 July 2014

Sleeve Gastrectomy more effective than Gastric band in terms of excess weight loss and resolution of type 2 diabetes

This article from China combines 12 studies together to see what the overall results are comparing Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery with Lap Band surgery.  It does show that weight loss is less with the band and, in parallel with this, resolution of co-morbidities is lower for patients who have a Gastric Band as well.  This has been widely published before, but it does highlight the fact that different weight loss operations offer different things for patients and what suits one patient doesn't necessarily suit all patients.  The Gastric Band is still a worthwhile procedure in the right setting and for the right patient.  Anyway, if you are wanting to discuss the options for you with respect to Bariatric surgery then it would be worthwhile calling my Receptionist at BetterLife surgery to make an appointment and I will point you in the right direction!

Regards, Steph Ulmer

 

LSG more effective than banding in terms of excess weight loss and resolution of type 2 diabetes

Thursday, July 4, 2013 - 12:52

Owen Haskins - Editor in chief, Bariatric News

A meta-analysis has showed that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a more effective procedure for morbid obesity than laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), with a greater effect on excess weight loss EWL and improvement of type 2 diabetes. The study authors from Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, and Subei People’s Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Yangzhou, China, write that the meta-analysis confirms the need for larger, randomised, and long-term follow-up studies to compare the efficacy of LSG, LAGB, and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

The study included 1,004 patients from 11 studies published between 2000 to 2012.

Results

The results (Table 1) showed that Gastric Sleeve surgery had a greater effect than Gastric Banding on weight loss at six and 12 months. For LAGB (Gastric Banding), the mean percentage EWL (% Excess Weight Lost) was 33.9 % after six months from six studies and 37.8 % after 12 months from four studies. In comparison, EWL was 50.6 % after six months and 51.8 % after 12 months from the same studies for LSG (Sleeve Gastrectomy).

Author

Improve or resolve T2DM

EWL% (6ms)

EWL% (12ms)

 

LAGB

LSG

LAGB

LSG

LAGB

LSG

Simon   KH Wong et al

n/a

n/a

27±26

63      ±      33

31      ±      24

65      ±      32

B   Breznikar et al.

16/22

6/8

n/a

n/a

52.4 (−2.0–145.3)

57.9 (7.6–92.3)

Juan   J. Omana et al.

6/13

14/14

25.2±12

39.5±16

40.3±19

50.6±19

Joshua   B. Alley et al.

11/17

22/31

n/a

n/a

29.5±16.7

47.2±11.9

Kazunori   Kasama et al.

3/4

4/6

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Paul   Brunault et al.

n/a

n/a

34.8±18.4

43.8±17.8

34.8±18.4

43.8±17.8

Susan   S. H. Gan

6/12

20/21

n/a

n/a

34.2

35.9

W.   K. Fenske et al.

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

45.0±2.4

47.8±4.5

S.   K. H. Wong

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

25.4±20.2

68.6±39.6

F.   B. Langer et al.

n/a

n/a

28.1±10.6

61.4±16.3

n/a

n/a

M.   A. Kueper et al.

n/a

n/a

39.1±19.1

33.0±10

n/a

n/a

H.   R. Hady et al.

4/8

18/39

48.98±6.58

62.71±21.17

n/a

n/a

Table 1: Main outcomes of the 12 studies included in the meta-analysis T2DM (Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus)

After six and 12 months, the mean percentage EWL was higher for LSG than for LAGB by 33.0 and 27.0 %, respectively, indicating that (at these time points) LSG had a greater effect on weight loss than LAGB.

Resolution of Type 2 Diabetes

LSG was also superior to LAGB in treating type 2 diabetes. In five studies, 42 of 68 (61.8 %) type 2 diabetes patients experienced improvement of their diabetes after LAGB, whereas 66 of 80 (82.5 %) type 2 diabetes patients improved after LSG, an increase of 20.7 %.

“Because LSG is a comparatively new procedure that has become popular in recent years, there is also concern about the long-term results; the follow-up periods in most reports are 6 or 12 months, and the studies analysed here provided relatively short-term findings,” the authors note. “Some studies that reported three-year results were not included in this meta-analysis because of insufficient data, but their numbers are low. There are few reports with a follow-up period of 5 years or more.”

Body Shape is a better predictor of risk than BMI

4 June 2014

Body Shape is a better predictor of risk than BMI

Using BMI (Body Mass Index) as a measure of obesity has always had its shortcomings, and it appears that there is strong evidence now that using ABSI(A Body Shape Index) is a better predictor of who is more likely to suffer complications of their obesity.  From a clinical context, this is what we, as Bariatric Surgeons worry about because then we can advocate surgery for those whose body shape index suggests that their chance of developing medical issues as a result of being overweight is increased.  We do know that Sleeve Gastrectomy or Bypass or Lap Banding are Bariatric Surgical procedures that do produce excellent and long term weight loss solutions for people who struggle with being overweight. 

The weight loss results from surgery has been shown in many trials to be better than best medical management for weight loss.  Paste the link below if you want to know how to measure your Waist Circumference accurately and then you will be able to measure your own Body Shape Index!  http://dev.musc.edu/cme/resources/obesity_resources/WCMG-Self-Measurement.pdf

Steph Ulmer

 

 

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A Body Shape Index (ABSI), is a more effective predictor of mortality than Body Mass Index (BMI), according to at study published by the online journal PLoS ONE.

In 2012, Dr Nir Krakauer, an assistant professor of civil engineering in City College of New York's Grove School of Engineering, and his father, Dr Jesse Krakauer, developed a new method to quantify the risk specifically associated with abdominal obesity.

The team analyzed data for 7,011 adults, 18+, who participated in the first Health and Lifestyle Survey (HALS1), conducted in Great Britain in the mid-1980s, and a follow-up survey seven years later (HALS2). The sample was broadly representative of the British population in terms of region, employment status, national origin, and age. They used National Health Service records through 2009 to identify deaths and cancer cases: 2,203 deaths were recorded among the sample population.

The analysis found ABSI to be a strong indicator of mortality hazard among the HALS population. Death rates increased by a factor of 1.13 (95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.16) for each standard deviation increase in ABSI. Persons with ABSI in the top 20% were found to have death rates 61% higher than those with ABSI in the bottom 20%.

The results tracked closely with the earlier study, which used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted in the United States between 1999 and 2004. This provides stronger evidence that ABSI is a valid indicator of the risk of premature death across different populations. Further, they showed that ABSI outperformed commonly used measures of abdominal obesity, including waist circumference, waist - hip ratio and waist - height ratio.

Also, because the data came from two surveys seven years apart, the researchers were able to assess the effect of change in ABSI on mortality. The found an increase in ABSI correlated with increased risk of death, and that the more recent ABSI measurement was a more reliable predictor. Noting this, the researchers contend that further investigation is warranted into whether lifestyle or other interventions could reduce ABSI and help people live longer.

“ABSI appears to outperform other popular anthropometry-based measures of adiposity, such as WHtR and WHR. Mortality risk appears to track changes in ABSI over time, motivating further research into whether lifestyle or other interventions could trigger reduction in ABSI and incur the longevity benefits seen in this study for those with lower ABSI,” the researchers concluded.

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