Exercise and Pharmacotherapy Can Improve Bariatric Surgery Treatment

Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatments for weight loss. The most popular forms of the surgery are gastric bypass surgery (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), and lap band surgery (Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding). Not only does bariatric surgery lead to weight loss in many cases, but it can also cause type 2 diabetes remission. Further, exercise and obesity drugs can help maintain the effects of the surgery long term.

Of the three most popular forms of bariatric surgery, gastric bypass is probably the most effective form of the surgery. Gastric bypass surgery is both restrictive and malabsorptive. It is restrictive in that by reducing the size of the usable stomach, it limits the amount of food a person eats. The surgery is malabsorptive in that it reduces the amount of calories taken in by the body during digestion. Still, the surgery is just one event in the process of weight loss and weight loss maintenance.

Therefore, additional measures should be taken to maintain the weight loss and to improve the effectiveness of the surgery. According to one study, phentermine and the combination of phentermine and topiramate plus exercise can enable a person to keep the weight from returning after gastric bypass surgery. The researchers concluded that "Phentermine and phentermine-topiramate in addition to diet and exercise appear to be viable options for weight loss in post-RYGB and LAGB patients who experience WR [weight recidivism] or WLP [weight loss plateau]."

Not only does exercise, post gastric bypass surgery, help maintain weight loss, but exercise, post bariatric surgery, also can maintain the improvement in metabolic conditions associated with type 2 diabetes, including insulin sensitivity. In one study, the investigators indicated that "Levels and activities of insulin-controlled proteins increased in both fat and muscle tissues after gastric bypass surgery, changes that enhance insulin sensitivity."

Bariatric surgery is an important weight loss treatment. But the surgery is only one event in the process of weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Weight loss maintenance is a lifetime endeavor. And exercise and pharmacotherapy can be helpful in this endeavor.

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