All around the world and throughout the nation, patients suffering from obesity are realizing that, for most of them, the benefits of weight loss surgery far outweigh the risks. Procedures like the gastric band and the sleeve gastrectomy have been proven to help patients lose weight while having a rate of complications as low as such common procedures as a knee replacement or an appendectomy. Of course, we’ve known for years, just by listening to our patients, that these procedures positively transform lives. At the same time, no one has taken the time to really measure the average affect that it has on a person’s happiness. Now, a group of researchers at Flinders University in Australia are embarking on a study to quantify exactly how these surgeries affect patients on an emotional level.

The researchers plan to interview a group of prospective weight loss surgery patients three months before having the surgery, and then follow through with them 6, 9, 12 and 24 months after the procedure. Typically, our patients at Beverly Hills Physicians and those at other bariatric facilities have lost over two-thirds of their excess body weight at the two year mark, so this seems to researchers like a proper benchmark to examine a patient’s overall contentment.

It is important to note that losing weight is by no means meant to solve all of a patient’s problems. Yet, slimming down can have very tangible, positive effects on a person’s life. Not only does it allow patients to be healthier and literally add years onto their life expectancy while avoiding many painful and stress-inducing health issues, but it allows them to do many activities that they were never able to do before. Simply having the ability to exercise can be very rewarding for many people, especially if they had previously been limited in their capacity to do so. The increased mobility that comes with being slimmer can also allow people to keep up with their friends in a variety of other rewarding activities and life experiences.

While it will be several years before the data collected by this study will be gathered and properly analyzed, patients who are interested in the potential positive effects that weight loss surgery can have on them personally can visit our website to see some of the amazing bariatric surgery success stories. While the results will vary, these stories will give patients a good idea of what is possible from weight loss surgery.

It is also important to keep in mind that the choice of where you go for your procedure is incredibly important. Trusting your surgery to our talented and highly experienced surgeons at Beverly Hills Physicians is an outstanding way to improve your chances of success.