Weight loss surgery tied to usage of alcohol

KATHMANDU - Reuters

Weight loss surgery reported greater alcohol use.

People who had weight loss surgery reported greater alcohol use two years after their procedures, according to a U.S. study.

The researchers, whose findings appeared in the Archives of Surgery, said it’s possible that some patients may turn to drinking if the surgery successfully stops their ability to overeat without addressing underlying issues.

In addition, the effect of certain stomach-shrinking procedures on alcohol tolerance may play a part.
“This is perhaps a risk,” said Alexis Conason, who worked on the study at the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center.

“I don’t think it should deter people from having surgery, but you should be cautious to monitor (alcohol use) after surgery,” Conason told Reuters Health.

The study didn’t show whether people were drinking in a dangerous way, and there was no clear increase in drug use or smoking after surgery.

Her team’s study involved 155 people getting gastric bypass or gastric banding surgery. Participants started the study with an average body mass index, or BMI, of 46 - equivalent of a 168 cm person weighing 129 kilograms.