Bariatric surgery has been the talk in the world of medicine. Originally created for people with obesity, this surgery is now being explored for its possible benefits in people with diabetes. An old professor of mine was a specialist in bariatric surgery, and hearing him rave about the benefits of it totally got me sold.

However, up to 40% of bariatric surgery ends up being a failure according to Dr. Simon Marceau, chief of the bariatric surgery department at the Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ).

“Why?” you may ask.

“People tend to lose their healthy lifestyle habits after the surgery,” shared Dr. Henri Atlas, chief of the bariatric department at the Montreal Sacré-Coeur Hospital.

I can’t agree more. I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of patient who were on the waiting for bariatric surgery during my intern years, and many of them believe that this surgery is the miracle cure for their obesity. Unfortunately, what they fail to realize is that healthy eating habits and regular physical activity are still needed to keep the weight off and stop diseases like diabetes from returning.

With that say, patients aren’t the only people to blame. The lack of follow-ups by health professionals like dietitian and psychologist is also the reason behind the relatively high rate of failure.

As a result, the government may need to fork out more money than expected as patients are not only coming back with weight issues but eating disorders and a bunch of other health problems as well.