A recent study published in the Journal of The American College of Surgeons demonstrated a link between obesity and certain cancers in women.  The group from The University of VIrginia concluded that morbidly obese women who had undergone bariatric surgery had less cancers than a similar group of women that had not undergone weight loss surgery.  The most common types of cancers found in these  morbidly obese women were endometrial (uterine), breast, and ovarian cancers.

 

 

There has been a glaring omission in the Clinical Practice Recommendations of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), until now.   Despite numerous studies over the past decade that have shown how effective weight loss surgery is in managing diabetes, surgery has not been included in the ADA recommendations.  This changed in Jan. 2009 when a section on bariatric surgery was added to the “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes.”  The ADA recommendations were consistent with NIH guidelines that adults with BMI greater than 35 and type 2 diabetes should be considered for weight loss surgery. 

This recognition is long overdue and finally brings the ADA in line with well designed studies published in both surgical and medical literature.