Bypass Surgery Leads To Faster Weight Loss And Reduction In Heart Disease Risk

Although lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise are the best way to prevent or treat obesity – and reduce the risk of heart disease – there’s a faster solution. According to preventive cardiologist Sheldon Litwin, gastric bypass surgery spurs weight loss much faster than lifestyle modifications while reducing heart disease risk. Litwin co-authored a six-year study of more than 1,000 severely obese people, a third of whom had gastric bypass surgery. The rest either didn't seek or couldn't get the surgery. Surgery patients experienced about a 30 percent weight loss (compared with none in control groups). They also had significantly fewer  cardiovascular risk factors. The control groups, however, did not participate in lifestyle therapies.