Dr. Sasse is a regular contributor at Sixty and Me, an online community with 500,000 women over age 60. In a recent post, he answers a common question among those considering metabolic surgery—how much weight can someone expect to lose following weight-loss surgery?
From the Post
Dr. Sasse clarifies that while pounds lost is an important number, there are other equally important outcomes from weight loss surgery.
“The good news is that all the main procedures have now been around for many years. Researchers have extensively studied these surgeries among seniors in large databases across many countries, and outcomes among millions of people have been evaluated. One of the first take-home points before we get to the expected specific number of pounds, is that the studies show unambiguously that individuals over 60 having weight loss surgery, or metabolic surgery as we call it, live longer and healthier lives.”
He includes several large-scale studies, concluding that “…regardless of the specific number of pounds we can expect to lose, we know definitively that health is improved and risks are reduced by this safe, 45-minute procedure.”
But What About Expected Weight Loss?
“The exact number of pounds lost varies a lot from person to person, and there is also variability among the different types of procedures. For the most often performed procedure in the United States, the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, most studies show that the amount of weight lost is around 65 or 70% of excess body weight (EBW).”
Dr. Sasse shares a useful example. “Let us take an example of a person who weighs 280 pounds. After surgery, that person loses 25% of total body weight, or around 70 pounds. That same person had around 100 extra pounds before surgery and lost 70% of excess body weight, or 70 pounds.”
He also clarifies that additional weight can be lost. “Dedication to a seven-days-a-week habit of exercise will enhance the weight that is lost, and sticking to a healthy long-term diet that emphasizes vegetables and proteins over carbohydrates will also help that effort.”
Read the post in full at Sixty & Me. We invite you to contact the Sasse Surgical team here in northern Nevada if you have questions about weight-loss surgery and whether you might be a candidate.
