Benefits of obesity surgery [part 1]
Mr Pratik Sufi, Consultant bariatric surgeon, Whittington Hospital, London, England.
The global scale of obesity and obesity related diseases is huge and ever increasing. There are over 650 million people with obesity and a further 1.3 billion people with overweight and 10.5% of the global adult population have diabetes. In the light of the vast numbers of people affected and the huge potential costs borne by health-care providers many proven methods of providing help to people with obesity are needed. These methods need to be effective, have a known safety profile and be cost-effective. Broadly these include safe, scientifically proven dietary methods, similarly safe and proven drug treatments, and surgical treatments, all delivered with effective lifestyle exercise, behavioural and psychological support.
In this episode Mr Sufi, a London-based bariatric surgery described the nature of bariatric surgery and it’s effects in improving the health conditions often associated with being too heavy: diabetes, sleep problems, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure and increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
Mr Sufi noted that bariatric surgery had been shown to be cost effective and the longest set of data about life after surgery, recorded in Sweden, showed clear benefits in comorbidities and longer duration of life. Bariatric surgery had been shown to be cost-effective particularly in people with recently diagnosed diabetes in whom health-care cost savings can be shown by three years after surgery.
Dr Leeds and Mr Sufi discussed the variation in the amount of delivery of bariatric surgery comparing the UK with France, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
Weblinks to useful resources are given below.
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