Probiotics Help Adult Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- A hefty dose ofprobiotics -- the "good" bacteria found in yogurts and supplements --helps adult gastric-bypass patients lose even more weight, researchers arereporting.

The researchers didn't set out to see if probiotics could help thepatients shed more pounds, said Dr. John M. Morton, associate professor atthe Stanford University School of Medicine, who presented the findingsthis week at the Digestive Disease Week 2008 meeting in San Diego.

Morton wanted to improve the patients' gastrointestinal functioning."Some patients [after bypass surgery] have a small amount of bacterialovergrowth [in the intestines]," he said, adding that can have an impacton gastrointestinal function and quality of life. So his team evaluated 42patients who had undergone the bariatric surgery known as Roux-en-Ygastric bypass surgery, giving half of them probiotics daily and the otherhalf no probiotics.

The researchers evaluated GI functioning and other measures and notedthe patients' weight before surgery, after surgery, and at three and sixmonths after beginning the probiotics program. The probiotics were givenin supplement form -- 2.4 billion colonies of Lactobacillus daily.

The probiotic group fared better in all categories at the six-monthmark -- and also lost more weight. The probiotic group lost 70 percent ofexcess weight, compared to 66 percent for the control group.

The finding initially surprised Morton. "But other research hassuggested that part of the obesity problem may be infectious. Some of theweight gain [in obese people] might be associated with bacteria," hesaid.

Asked if obese people, or those who have had bypass surgery, should eatyogurt, Morton said it probably couldn't hurt, but noted that 2.4 billioncolonies of Lactobacillus is a large amount to get from yogurt.

Another study presented this week suggested that for severelyoverweight teens, a gentler weight-loss surgery may be possible. Dr.Roberto Fogel, of the Hospital de Clinicas Caracas, in Venezuela,presented the results of his pilot investigation of 12 teens, whounderwent a surgery called endoluminal vertical gastroplasty, or EVG.

During the surgery, Fogel sutures the walls of the stomach, reducingthe volume of the stomach but leaving a passageway for food. The procedureis done through the mouth; a scope containing a needle and sutures isinserted multiple times to perform the procedure.

After 60 to 90 minutes, the patient can go home, said Fogel, who doesthe surgery on an outpatient basis. Once the procedure is done, thepatient gets full on very little food, he said.

At a six-month follow-up, Fogel found that all 12 patients had lostweight. The average body mass index, or BMI, was reduced from 38.1 to27.8; a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

Fogel sees the new procedure, which he has performed on 331 teens since2005, as a possible alternative to more invasive surgeries, or diet andexercise programs that prove ineffective for some obese teens.

But he cautioned that the technique needs further investigation withlonger follow-up.

In another obesity-related study presented at the conference, EricaRoberson, a postgraduate researcher at the University ofWisconsin-Madison, reported that fecal incontinence and urinaryincontinence are little talked about but real problems for patients bothbefore and after bariatric surgery.

While fecal incontinence tends to worsen after bariatric surgery,urinary incontinence tends to improve. Patients often don't talk aboutthese problems with their doctors, she said.

Roberson evaluated 194 survey responses from bariatric surgerypatients, more than 80 percent of them women, roughly two years after thesurgery. Almost 75 percent of the patients with urinary incontinencereported either an improvement or no change following the bariatricsurgery. Fifty-four percent of patients with fecal incontinence said theproblem was worse after surgery, compared to almost 12 percent whoreported an improvement, the study found.

An estimated 32 percent of U.S. adults are obese, and 17 percent ofteens are overweight, according to the National Center for HealthStatistics.

More information

To learn more about obesity, visit .