Bariatric surgery for severe obesity is associated with long-term weight loss and decreased overall mortality.

As compared with conventional therapy, bariatric surgery appears to be a viable option for the treatment of severe obesity, resulting in long-term weight loss, improved lifestyle, and, except for hypercholesterolemia, amelioration in risk factors that were elevated at baseline.

OBJECTIVE -It is well established that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is closely linked to the presence and duration of overweight and obesity. A reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle changes has previously been demonstrated. We hypothesized that adding a weight-reducing agent to lifestyle changes may lead to an even greater decrease in body weight, and thus the incidence of type 2 diabetes, in obese patients.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -In a 4-year, double-blind, prospective study, we randomized 3,305 patients to lifestyle changes plus either orlistat 120 mg or placebo, three times daily. Participants had a BMI Ն30 kg/m 2 and normal (79%) or impaired (21%) glucose tolerance (IGT). Primary endpoints were time to onset of type 2 diabetes and change in body weight. Analyses were by intention to treat.RESULTS -Of orlistat-treated patients, 52% completed treatment compared with 34% of placebo recipients (P Ͻ 0.0001). After 4 years' treatment, the cumulative incidence of diabetes was 9.0% with placebo and 6.2% with orlistat, corresponding to a risk reduction of 37.3% (P ϭ 0.0032). Exploratory analyses indicated that the preventive effect was explained by the difference in subjects with IGT. Mean weight loss after 4 years was significantly greater with orlistat (5.8 vs. 3.0 kg with placebo; P Ͻ 0.001) and similar between orlistat recipients with impaired (5.7 kg) or normal glucose tolerance (NGT) (5.8 kg) at baseline. A second analysis in which the baseline weights of subjects who dropped out of the study was carried forward also demonstrated greater weight loss in the orlistat group (3.6 vs. 1.4 kg; P Ͻ 0.001).CONCLUSIONS -Compared with lifestyle changes alone, orlistat plus lifestyle changes resulted in a greater reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes over 4 years and produced greater weight loss in a clinically representative obese population. Difference in diabetes incidence was detectable only in the IGT subgroup; weight loss was similar in subjects with IGT and or NGT. Diabetes Care 27:155-161, 2004O besity is a serious health concern affecting Ͼ300 million people worldwide, representing a 50% increase in only 7 years (1). A number of studies (2-4) show that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is closely linked to the presence and duration of overweight and obesity. Indeed, ϳ90% of individuals with type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese (5). The World Health Organization has estimated that the number of adults with diabetes will more than double from an estimated 143 million in 1997 to 300 million by 2025 (5).The Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study has demonstrated that large weight losses in obese patients are associated with an 80% reduction in the 8-year incidence of diabetes (6). The Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) and the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) have also demonstrated that modest weight loss achieved by lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in obese patients with impaired glucose...

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OBJECTIVE:The Obesity-related Problems scale (OP) is a self-assessment module developed to measure the impacts of obesity on psychosocial functioning. Our principal aim was to evaluate the construct validity and responsiveness of the OP scale. Our specific aims were to test: (1) the psychometric performance of OP; (2) if OP scores differed by gender and weight category; (3) if OP scores are inversely related to mental well-being; (4) if weight reduction in the obese is accompanied by improvements in psychosocial functioning (OP). SUBJECTS: Four samples were used: 6863 subjects in the SOS cross-sectional study; 2128 in the SOS intervention study; 1017 nonobese in the SOS reference study; and 3305 obese subjects in the XENDOS study. MEASUREMENTS: Psychosocial functioning was measured by OP. Overall mood was measured by MACL. Anxiety and depression symptoms were measured by HAD. RESULTS: Psychometric testing provided strong support for the construct validity of OP. Factor analysis confirmed the homogeneity of the construct and multitrait/multi-item scaling analysis demonstrated strong item-convergent/discriminant validity. Reliability coefficients were high and floor and ceiling effects were small. Psychometric results were cross-validated and replicated in subgroups by gender, age and body mass index (BMI). As expected, large differences in OP were observed between obese and nonobese (Po0.0001). Obese women reported more weight-related psychosocial problems than obese men (Po0.0001). Psychosocial disturbances (OP) among the obese were significantly related to poor mood (MACL; Po0.0001) and anxiety and depression symptoms (HAD; Po0.0001). Change in OP over time was strongly correlated with weight loss (Po0.0001). A distinct dose-response effect between weight reduction and improvements in OP was demonstrated. Scores on psychosocial functioning (OP) and mental well-being (MACL, HAD) in nonobese (BMIo30) surgical patients at 4-y follow-up were equal to scores observed in nonobese reference subjects (NS). CONCLUSION: OP is a psychometrically valid obesity-specific measure suitable for evaluating HRQL effects of obesity interventions. The negative impact of obesity on psychosocial functioning is considerable and disturbances are connected with poor mental well-being. Weight reduction in the obese is followed by improvements in both psychosocial functioning and mental well-being.