Study: Lap Band Surgery for Obese Teens Results in Reduced Metabolic Syndrome Risk
"An
estimated 17 percent of all American adolescents are obese, and
increasing numbers of them also have metabolic syndrome," says
Dr. Fennoy, a pediatric endocrinologist at NewYork-Presbyterian
Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, clinical professor of pediatrics
at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and
co-author of the study. "Until recently, there have been few
treatments capable of helping these young patients lose weight, much
less improving their lifelong health prospects. The Lap-Band may well
be a useful intervention for tackling teen obesity -- which is why it
is so important to investigate the procedure's safety and efficacy in
this growing population."
In the new
study, Dr. Fennoy and her colleagues followed 24 morbidly obese
adolescents between the ages of 14 and 17 who underwent the Lap-Band
procedure. The study participants either had a BMI of greater than 40
or greater than 35 if already suffering from diabetes or
obesity-related illnesses.
Six months after
surgery, they noted a significant drop in participants' BMI, waist
circumference, and blood levels of C-reactive protein. These
indicators continued to improve among the 12 patients being followed
up at the one-year point.
Other measures
of metabolic syndrome such as blood lipid and sugar levels, the
authors reported, came down quickly in the first six months, with
"less dramatic" changes seen one year after surgery.