A large study from the Cleveland Clinic has found that people who have both obesity and type 2 diabetes may live longer and stay healthier if they have weight-loss surgery, compared to those who only use common diabetes medicines like GLP-1 drugs.
These findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine. The researchers followed nearly 4,000 adults with obesity and diabetes for up to 10 years.
About 1,600 of them had weight-loss surgery, while around 2,300 were treated with medicines like semaglutide, liraglutide, dulaglutide, and tirzepatide.
The results were clear: surgery provided greater health benefits than medication alone. People who had surgery lost more weight, had better blood sugar control, and needed fewer drugs for diabetes, heart problems, and high blood pressure.
By the end of the study, those who had surgery had a 32% lower risk of dying, 35% lower risk of serious heart problems like heart attacks and strokes, 47% lower risk of kidney disease, and 54% lower risk of eye damage from diabetes.
On average, surgery patients lost 21.6% of their body weight over 10 years. In comparison, patients using GLP-1 drugs lost only 6.8%. Blood sugar levels also improved more in the surgery group.
Dr. Ali Aminian, the lead author and director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric & Metabolic Institute, explained that weight-loss surgery offers more than just weight control.
It also helps prevent serious health problems and can extend life. Even with today’s powerful diabetes drugs, surgery seems to provide long-term advantages.
Dr. Steven Nissen, senior author of the study, added that surgery should continue to be considered an important treatment option for people with obesity and diabetes, especially for those who do not do well on medications alone.
The study, called the M6 study, followed real patients in regular clinical care. However, it was not a randomized trial, meaning people were not randomly assigned to surgery or medicine. That means other factors could have influenced the results. Also, the study did not focus only on the newest GLP-1 drugs, which may offer stronger benefits than earlier versions.
Even so, the results are important. They suggest that weight-loss surgery is a powerful tool in fighting diabetes and obesity. The researchers say future studies should directly compare surgery with the latest drugs to better understand which works best—and for whom.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies about Scientists find secrets to long-term weight loss success and findings of Weight loss surgery linked to this mental disease.
For more about obesity, please read studies about Obesity drugs can help prevent weight regain after weight loss surgery and findings of Research shows big hidden cause of obesity.
The study is published in Nature Medicine.
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