(Health): Weight-Loss Surgery Weakened Bones in Teens and Young Adults - Research Finding

A common weight-loss surgery for obese adolescents and young adults is found to have harmful effects on bones, according to a study published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

“Childhood obesity is on the rise and weight-loss surgery is the most effective way to reduce weight and improve cardiometabolic comorbidities,” said the study’s lead investigator, Miriam A. Bredella, M.D., professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and vice chair for Faculty Affairs and Clinical Operations, Department of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “This is the first study in adolescents and young adults that examined the long-term effects of sleeve gastrectomy, the most common type of weight-loss surgery, on bone strength and bone marrow fat.”

Sleeve gastrectomy removes approximately 75% to 80% of the stomach to restrict food intake and induce weight loss.

And after the surgery and examinations conducted on the participants between the age of 13 and 24 years, it was discovered that most of them had their bones weakened. 

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