Obesity surgery when combined with an intensive lifestyle intervention program confers a greater advantage over the combination of low energy diet and lifestyle intervention

Aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term effects of two obesity treatment modalities: lifestyle  intervention coupled with surgery and lifestyle intervention coupled with low-energy diet.

Material-Methods: A total of 32 morbidly obese women participated in the study. A group of them (n=15) underwent vertical banded gastroplasty and they were assigned to the lifestyle plus surgery group (LS-surgery). The rest of them (n=17) were assigned to the lifestyle plus low-energy-diet group (LS-diet).

Results: The LS-surgery group lost significantly more weight after 12 months than the LS-diet group (46.4±3.0 kg vs. 18.5±3.0 kg, P<0.001) and this difference remained significant till the 36-month followup assessment. Conclusions: Even though the combination of intensive lifestyle intervention along with low-energy-diet resulted in weight loss and maintenance, this effect was less pronounced than the one achieved through the combination of lifestyle modification and surgery.