Weight loss surgery can help morbidly obese teenagers to improve their heart condition and reverse some of the negative effects of obesity on their cardiovascular system, according to a new small-scale US research, published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.
Researchers examined nine girls and one boy who underwent bariatric surgery at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. They were all given a heart scan both before and after the procedure. All teenagers had heart abnormalities prior to their surgeries, such as high blood pressure, increased left ventricular mass and left ventricular dilation.
weight loss surgery can benefit teens
John Bauer, one of the authors of the research, commented that prior to the surgery the heart scans showed that there was more serious damage to the teenagers’ hearts than they had initially expected. In fact, in more than half of the participants the cardiovascular abnormalities were equal to those of a middle-aged person with diagnosed cardiovascular problems, Health magazine reported.
However, a year after the procedures, patients’ heart scans revealed that their heart abnormalities had been reversed. Despite the fact that the study only involved ten patients and that researchers did not prove that the improvement in the teenagers’ heart condition was directly caused by their surgery, they managed to find a link between the two.
According to co-author Dr Marc Michalsky, surgical director of the hospital’s Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, the study highlights the seriousness of heart abnormalities in obese teenagers. He also noted that weight loss surgery in teens should never be treated as a cosmetic procedure, as those children are very sick and their life is effectively in danger.
The Bariatric Group - Weight Loss Blog 