Weight loss surgery linked to significant cancer risk reduction

Having weight loss surgery can reduce a woman’s risk of developing cancer in later life by around 40 per cent, a new study has revealed.

While it has long been acknowledged that a higher body mass index (BMI) increases the risk of a number of cancers, a new study published by scientists at the University of Gothenburg has produced the first proof that bariatric surgery can be even more beneficial than losing weight naturally.

As a result, writing in the Lancet Oncology journal, the Swedish team have advised that timely weight loss surgery can be highly beneficial to the long-term health of female patients, though a similar conclusion was not reached for obese males.

The study’s authors concluded: "The current exploratory report on cancer further underlines the favourable effects of bariatric surgery, particularly in women."

Among the most notable examples of women benefitting from weight loss surgery is Fern Britton, who last summer admitted that she had help in slimming from a size 22 to a size 16.