Gastric bypass surgery causes family 'halo' effect

By Cayden

October 24, 2011

Having gastric bypass surgery has a ripple effect that causes other family members to lose weight, eat better and exercise more, a new study shows.

Researchers at Stanford University in California found that when one member of a family has a gastric bypass, other obese adults in the household lose an average of 8lb (3.6kg) over a year.

According to the report, spouses, relatives and even the children of patients who underwent the procedure not only dropped significant amounts of weight but also doubled their activity levels and had other improvements still evident a year after surgery.

The study also revealed that even if they were not obese to start with, adult family members almost completely stopped drinking alcohol, with the average number of drinks consumed per person falling from 11.4 to 0.8 per month.

According to Dr Morton, associate professor of surgery at Stanford School of Medicine, the study showed each patient should be regarded as an "ambassador for good health". "Obesity is a family disease and bariatric surgery sets the table for future, healthy family meals," he said.

Results of the study, which looked at 50 family members of patients, are published in the journal Archives of Surgery.



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