Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in the metabolic risk profile in formerly obese women, in whom a significant weight loss was obtained by Swedish adjustable gastric band (SAGB) operation or by diet alone.
Methods: A total of 40 patients (24 after SAGB and 16 after diet) participated in the study. Clinical data, including body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, body fat content and blood pressure values, as well as laboratory results [fasting glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index, leptin, lipid values and markers of subclinical inflammation] were evaluated before a planned abdominoplastic operation.
Results: Patients in the SABG group had lost a significantly greater amount of weight (52.7 +/- 10.0 kg) compared with the diet group (20.0 +/- 11.5 kg; p < 0.001), and the percent excess weight loss was 69.1 +/- 11.4 in the SAGB group and 54.5 +/- 17.7 (p < 0.040) in the diet group. Before the abdominoplastic operation neither the mean BMI nor the percentage of fat mass revealed a significant difference between the groups. Fasting insulin (6.1 +/- 3.0 microU/ml) and the HOMA index (1.4 +/- 0.7) as a measure of insulin resistance were significantly lower in the SAGB than in the diet group (fasting insulin: 8.2 +/- 3.8 microU/ml; p < 0.048; HOMA index: 2.0 +/- 1.0; p < 0.031). Swedish adjustable gastric band patients showed significantly lower plasma leptin levels (9.4 +/- 10.8 ng/ml) than the dietary-treated patients (13.9 +/- 9.6 ng/ml; p < 0.014), while tumour necrosis factor-alpha serum levels were increased in the SAGB group (17.6 +/- 7.3 pg/ml) compared with the diet group (11.9 +/- 0.49 pg/l; p < 0.048).
Conclusions: The extensive weight loss in formerly obese women after SAGB operation was paralleled by a favourable metabolic profile indicating a higher degree of insulin sensitivity than in women after a successful, but less pronounced weight loss by diet alone.