Gene changes linked to successful weight loss surgery

About 1 in 5 adults is very overweight. The only way for most of these people to lose weight is surgery. Not everyone can get the surgery. It costs a lot of money, and there are not enough surgeons. Also, any surgery has a small chance of something going wrong. This project is looking at a special kind of weight loss surgery called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). In this surgery, they redo the “plumbing” to shrink the stomach and skip part of your small intestine. The surgery helps people lose weight in more than one way. With a smaller stomach, you can’t eat as much. You also don’t take in everything from the food you eat. After surgery, people don’t feel as hungry. They also don’t have as many food cravings. Blood sugar levels were also better after surgery. These are all good things and help you lose weight. Doctors aren’t sure why these other changes happen. One gene change is linked to weight loss after RYGB. Scientists in this study will first confirm that gene change. Some don’t lose weight after surgery. So, the scientists will then compare the genes of people who do lose weight after RYGB to those who don’t. The difference in genes might tell us why some people don’t lose weight after this surgery. The scientists think that different genes are involved in the new changes after surgery. This could help scientists figure out new ways to help people lose weight.