In a new study, researchers found that a new, minimally invasive treatment for obesity could effectively maintain weight loss and control appetite.
Patients who used this treatment could keep a healthy body weight more easily.
The research was led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers.
Obesity is a public health crisis, and over 93 million Americans and hundreds of millions of people in the world are affected.
Traditional treatments include behavior therapy, healthy diets, and regular exercises. However, these methods do not sustain weight loss in many people.
More and more people now choose to do weight loss surgery, including sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and gastric banding.
Although these procedures are more effective, they may pose health risks and quite expensive.
It is important to have more minimally invasive, cost-effective options.
In the current study, the new treatment is called bariatric embolization.
In this procedure, microscopic beads are delivered into the stomach’s arteries to block blood flow in the upper part of the stomach to suppress levels of the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin.
Previous research of the team has shown that bariatric embolization has evolved into a revolutionary treatment for obesity.
In this study, the researchers report the procedure was performed successfully for all 20 study participants with no major side effects.
After the surgery, all participants visited their weight management team to help assess their diet, weight loss, physical activity, hunger, and lifestyle improvements.
The team found that these people lost 8.2% weight during the first month, 11.5% during the third month, 12.8% during the sixth month and 11.5% during the 12th month.
Overall, the treatment resulted in a weight loss of 11% body weight (7.6 kilograms) in the participants.
The effect is very good because 5% of total weight loss can bring lots of health benefits.
In addition, these people reported a decrease in hunger and an increase in satiety when eating.
Although appetite increased steadily after the procedure, it remained 26% lower in the 12th month than the first month.
These people also had decreases in total cholesterol and increases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the so-called “good cholesterol.”
Finally, the physical function, self-esteem, sexual life, work life, and public distress were all improved in the patients.
The team suggests that the new findings provide evidence of the safety and effectiveness of the procedure. It can be a potential tool to combat obesity.
They hope the new treatment may open the door for a safe and less invasive way to lose weight, especially for people who are morbidly obese.
The lead author of the study is Clifford Weiss, M.D., associate professor of radiology and radiological science at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The study is published in the journal Radiology.
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