NEW YORK – A study published Monday shows that gastric bypass is linked with faster weight loss than gastric binding. The Wall Street Journal reports that weight loss was faster over a six year period during which more than 400 patients were analysed.
The weight loss was measured “by looking at group changes in body mass index – or BMI- at various times after surgery.” BMI measures body fat “by using a person’s height and weight.” Study participants “started out with an average BMI of about 43″ and fell below 30 a year after. After a year gastric band users had a BMI of about 34. The cholesterol remained unchanged in gastric binding patients but decreased in those who used gastric bypass.
Treatment failures were also taken into account – “measured by a revearsal of the procedures” – and the rate among gastric binding patients was 48.3% compared with “12.3% for bypass.” The study looked at 442 patients between 1998 and 2005, evenly divided between patients who had chosen gastric binding and gastric by-pass procedures.
Gastric binding consists of “the placements of a band around the top part of the stomach to create a small pouch.” Gastric by-pass instead consists of a surgery aimed at reducing the size of the patient’s stomach.” Once the stomach is reduced, it is “ attached to the middle of the small intestine, bypassing a section of the intestine and thereby limiting the absorption of calories.”