Gastric bypass cuts obesity death rate: studies

By Gene Emery

BOSTON (Reuters) - Gastric bypass surgery not only helps obese people drop weight and look better, it also helps them live significantly longer, according to two reports published on Wednesday.

The studies in the New England Journal of Medicine confirm what doctors had long suspected but never proved.

The years gained are significant, with lifespan prolonged by up to 40 percent and rates of diabetes, cancer and heart disease all lower.

"The question as to whether intentional weight loss improves life span has been answered, and the answer appears to be a resounding yes," Dr. George Bray of Louisiana State University wrote in a commentary.

More than 30 percent of the U.S. population is now considered obese, with severely obese people tending to die five to 20 years earlier than people of healthy weight.

At the same time, more than 100,000 stomach operations of some type are performed in the United States each year to help people lose weight.

One of the studies found that gastric bypass surgery -- in which doctors reduce the size of the stomach to limit the amount of food a person can eat -- cut the death rate by 40 percent among 7,925 volunteers who had been followed for an average of seven years.

The risk of heart disease dropped 56 percent, the diabetes rate was 92 percent lower and the likelihood of cancer was 60 percent less compared with 7,925 severely obese people identified by data from their drivers' licenses.