A new study has suggested that bariatric or weight loss surgery may not only help obese people keep the weight off, but also it may actually reverse the effects of aging.
Researchers at Stanford University have found that people who underwent a gastric bypass operation elongated their telomeres- caps on the ends of chromosomes- that they say may be a measure of longevity, CBS News reported.
Dr. John Morton, an associate professor of surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, conducted the study on 51 people- mostly women- before and after they underwent a gastric bypass.
It was found that twelve months after surgery, subjects lost more than 70 percent of their body weight and proteins that measure inflammation also saw reductions with insulin levels dropping by four times.
The study found that patients' telomeres grew longer after surgery, especially in those who had the highest levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol or inflammation at the beginning of the study.
The study was presented at the ObesityWeek meeting in Atlanta.
