Why does bariatric surgery work?
We've all heard "calories in and calories out" and while calorie consumption and energy expenditure do affect weight, it's often more complicated than that.
Our weight is driven by a combination of factors-including things that we control and one beyond our control-and sometimes things that seem simple are not.
For example, food choice we make are partially in our control, but but they are also affected by our hormones and genetics, which are out of our control. Simply said, your genetics play a big part in obesity. We still have a lot to learn about obesity- but we do know that genetic makeup in someone with obesity is not the same as in someone without obesity.
In addition to genetics, environmental factors, such as sleep and stress levels, can affect obesity.
A traditional diet, focuses on exerting control but that can often increase stress and hunger, making it more challenging. We eat less but our bodies want to eat more. A bariatric procedure restricts the amount of food that can be consumed and reduces the body's "set point," meaning that we are naturally less hungery. After a metabolic procedure, we eat less because our bodies crave less food.
Bariatric procedures change when and how our bodies hunger, enabling weight loss. These changes also affect many medical conditions - for example, resolving diabetes for many patients. Studies have suggested that bariatric procedures reduce death rates by 50%+