Lipid Profile in the Severely Obese

Research has shown that the long-term weight loss that’s typically achieved through bariatric surgery can improve the lipid profiles of people who are severely obese.

A lipid profile is a group of tests that help determine the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. It usually includes a measure of a person’s total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C or “good cholesterol”), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C or “bad cholesterol”), and triglycerides (also referred to as “fasting triglycerides”).

According to Australian researchers, the lipid profiles of obese people tend to show elevated fasting triglycerides and decreased levels of “good” cholesterol. After looking at 572 obese subjects, researchers concluded that these abnormal lipid profiles were usually related to weight distribution, insulin sensitivity, and impaired glucose tolerance, with people who carried much of their weight in their midsection having an increased risk for lipid abnormalities.

Patients who underwent weight loss surgery showed an improvement in fasting triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and total cholesterol within 1 year of surgery. These improvements were maintained up to 4 years. Researchers were able to show that the overall improvements in the bariatric surgery patients’ lipid profiles were linked to a decrease in fasting glucose, improvement in insulin sensitivity, and the extent of weight lost achieved.