Weight Loss Tips

Lap-Band Surgery May Help Resolve Depression and Anxiety in Obese People

If you are overweight or obese, you may be putting yourself at risk for anxiety and depression in addition to the physical ailments that are well-known risks of obesity. In the same way that weight loss can resolve physical problems like heart disease, diabetes, joint pain, and high blood pressure, studies show that weight loss can also reduce or eliminate your psychological symptoms completely.

A new study of twenty-five morbidly obese adults compared their levels of anxiety and depression before and after undergoing laparoscopic gastric banding surgery, or Lap-Band. The Lap-Band surgery places a small band at the top of your stomach, effectively reducing the amount of food you can eat before feeling full, and it results in significant weight loss over a relatively short period of time. The study participants showed marked improvement in the patients’ quality of life even six months after their procedure and additional improvement another six months later. All of the patients had showed physical improvements, and anxiety and depression levels were reduced significantly.

Andrew Johnson, MD, one of the study’s authors, said that this study showed the potential for overall improvement in a patient’s health after Lap-Band surgery. “These results provide evidence one year after gastric banding that psychological health improves in parallel with physiological health.”