Will Weight-Loss Surgery Make You Happy?
Weight-loss surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity and some of its associated health risks. But surgery can impact mental health and well-being in surprising ways. We spoke with a 泫圖弝け of Utah 泫圖弝け expert about how weight-loss surgery affects quality of life.
Meet Our Expert: Larissa McGarrity, PhD, clinical psychologist for the Comprehensive Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery programs at U of U 泫圖弝け.
How does weight-loss surgery work?
Weight-loss surgery makes your stomach smaller and may reroute parts of your intestines, which makes you feel full faster and absorb less energy from food. Over the course of a few years, people who have had the surgery typically lose at least half of their excess body weight, although this varies a lot. And its normal to regain some weight.
What does weight-loss surgery help with?
Weight-loss surgery lowers the risk for serious metabolic conditions including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and it can also help with mobility issues.
But its not a magic cure-all for quality of life. After weight-loss surgery, many people are surprised to find that anxiety, self-image, and social relationships either do not improve as much as they expected or actually present new or worse challenges.
A lot of people, when theyre going into this surgery, expect that everythings going to get better, right? McGarrity says. Some people are surprised to see that in the years after surgery, some things get better: I lost the weight, I feel better overall, I can do more things. At the same time, I still have tricky experiences and difficulties with the way other people perceive me and the way I perceive myself.
How does weight-loss surgery affect mental health?
Most people who go through weight-loss surgery experience better mental healthbut not because theyve lost weight, Instead, the benefits to mental health are related to lower weight stigmaexperiences of shame, blame, or bias related to body size or shape.
We think of a lot of mental and physical health issues for patients with obesity as being a given, McGarrity explains. But research has shown over time that the cumulative effect of stigma and discrimination actually contributes to a large part of the physical and mental health problems that we disproportionately see for patients with obesity.
Most people who get weight-loss surgery experience much less weight stigma after their surgery. Lower stigma leads to better mental health and lower chronic stress, and makes it easier to practice healthy behaviors like eating healthy, exercising, and getting medical checkups.
On the other hand, people who still experience weight stigma after surgery are at higher risk for disordered eating and mental health concerns, whether or not theyve lost weight. This means that reducing weight stigma is an important step toward improving health at any weight.
How can I reduce weight stigma?
Focusing less on the number on the scale and more on other measures of healthlike lower blood pressure, more energy for daily tasks, or better blood sugar controlcan help reduce stress around weight.
Many people experience the most weight stigma from friends and family. Spending time around supportive friends can help. So can having honest conversations about why jokes and judgmental questions that stigmatize higher weights are harmful.
If youre considering weight-loss surgery, including loved ones in conversations with weight-inclusive providers can help promote healthy attitudes so that you can live your best life. We can help dispel myths about weight and the treatment of weight for family members and friends who may inadvertently be contributing to some of these challenges for patients, McGarrity says, while their intention is to help patients and have them be as healthy as possible.
