It’s no secret that diabetes often becomes a growing health concern when individuals are carrying excess weight. According to a Harvard study, people who are obese may be as much 60-times as likely to develop diabetes as those who are within normal weight ranges. While weight loss surgery isn’t meant to be a treatment for diabetes, one of the many advantages of losing significant weight is the improvement of conditions like diabetes. In fact, diabetic patients who have sleeve surgery (sleeve gastrectomy) have remission rates that can be as high as 60 percent.

Diabetes and Obesity

Approximately 90 percent of all instances of diabetes may be directly linked to obesity or excessive weight. The American Diabetes Association suggests that losing even 10-15 pounds may help reduce problematic symptoms of diabetes. Cutting back on calories and fat and getting more exercise can help achieve this goal. For diabetics who have consistently struggled with weight loss, however, it’s not always that easy to keep even smaller amounts of weight off long enough to enjoy potential health benefits.

How Sleeve Surgery Helps

Sleeve surgery could provide the added incentive to adopt a healthy lifestyle and minimize or eliminate diabetes symptoms. Weight loss procedures like sleeve gastrectomy may help ease or reverse diabetes symptoms in several ways. Adults with type 2 diabetes may have better blood sugar control as weight is lost in the months following sleeve surgery. A study on patients with diabetes who had the sleeve operation found that nearly 80 percent were able to reduce their dependence on diabetes medications. The procedure may also help prevent or reverse diabetes by:

• Improving glucose metabolism
• Changing the way “gut hormones” work in a way that may reduce diabetes risks
• Reducing the absorption of sugars and fats that often lead to blood sugar spikes

Using Weight Loss as an Incentive to Adopt Healthy Behaviors

In a study involving diabetics who had weight loss surgery, those who had the sleeve procedure were 17 times more likely to experience a remission after the operation. Patients may further minimize their risk of having issues with diabetes because of the lifestyle changes that will be necessary to maintain weight loss results on a long-term basis, including:

• Getting more daily exercise
• Eating smaller portion sizes
• Choosing foods with better nutritional value

Sleeve surgery involves the removal of a large portion of the stomach and the creation of a smaller reservoir for food. Prior to surgery, patients who are excessively overweight may be asked to make an attempt to lose some weight to make the operation safer. Efforts will still need to be made to manage diabetes after the surgery, including periodic testing of blood sugar levels, to determine if the condition has improved or gone into remission.