Mental Health: Gastric Bypass Surgery Helps Obese Teens Feel Better

Researchers at Lund University have found that obese teens generally have improved physical and mental health after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. 

During the two-year study, researchers analyzed data from 88 Swedish teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years old. The majority of participants had an average body mass index (BMI) of 45.6 prior to surgery and were examined throughout three rounds during the study: before surgery, one year following and two years after.

"Most young people felt significantly better two years after surgery. On average, they felt like most other adolescents, so their mental health had been normalized," Kajsa Jarvolhm, a researcher and psychologist at Lund University said in a statement. "There is also a big difference in how weight affected them in various social situations. Two years after the operation, they experienced far fewer limitations than before."

However, researchers noted that their studies are not quite over. In fact, it's important to continue examining the adolescent study group into the future, as well as provide psychological support for them--particularly for those who may not feel better after losing weight.

In the future, the researchers hope to investigate whether undergoing surgery before turning 18 might have any different results in terms of disease prevention and maintaining weight, as well as better mental health, overall.

While many operations have been carried out in Sweden where healthcare is free, compared to the rest of the world, this is not quite the case in other areas. In the United States, one would need health insurance to cover such a procedure. And in Denmark, for instance, weight-loss surgery is not allowed for patients under the age of 25.

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