Teens and young adults who undergo weight-loss surgery may end up with weakened bones, according to a new peer-reviewed study.
The two-year study showed that obese young adults ages 13-24 who had a sleeve gastrectomy experienced long-term negative effects on their bones — including reduced vertebral bone strength and density — when compared to obese young adults who did not undergo the surgery.
A sleeve gastrectomy removes roughly “75% to 80% of the stomach to restrict food intake and induce weight loss.”
Reducing gastric volume affects hormone secretion which “in turn can influence bone health,” said the researchers, led by Dr. Miriam A. Bredella, a musculoskeletal radiologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School…