A new European study shows that many people who have weight loss surgery and don’t take enough vitamins are likely to experience nutritional deficiencies, including anemia.
Doctors studied 70 obesity surgery patients between 2004 and 2006, before and after their operations. Twenty-one patients had gastric banding surgery and the others had gastric bypass surgery. Nearly all of them were taking nutritional supplements.
Researchers found that a year after having surgery, the gastric bypass patients had lost weight more rapidly. But ten percent of the subjects were anemic, and were also deficient in iron or vitamin B12. The gastric banding patients showed fewer deficiencies overall.
We spoke with Jacqueline Jacques, Chief Science Officer for Bariatric Advantage, about the risk of nutritional deficiencies for bariatric patients.
Researchers concluded that post-op bariatric surgery patients can avoid vitamin deficiency by taking supplements, but they can’t do it alone. They need to consult their doctors and stay carefully monitored, regardless of the weight loss surgery procedure they chose.
October 13th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I take ProBarimin QT Multivitamin – only two tablets for all of my vitamins. My doctor prescribed it to me so that I can have my insurance cover it. It also tastes sooo yummy!