Weight-loss Surgery Reverses Aging, Study Suggests

Weight-loss surgery not only slows signs of aging; it may go so far as to turn back the clock, a new study led by Stanford University researchers suggests.

Presented at ObesityWeek 2013, the largest international event focused on what many are calling an epidemic, the study looked at the genetic data of 51 patients before and after gastric bypass surgery.

Nearly 77 percent of those surveyed were women in their late 40s. On average, patients had a body mass index of 44.3 and loss 71 percent of their excess weight. The average drop in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which measure inflammation, dropped by more than 60 percent and fasting insulin rates declined by four-fold within 12 months of surgery.

And while these results were consistent with past research, the scientists went further, comparing pre- and post-surgery lengths of each patient's telomeres, genetic biomarkers that play a key role in cellular aging and disease development. Age and chronic disease are both linked with shorter telomeres.

The findings showed that, in the case of some patients, their telomeres grew longer after surgery. Specifically, those with high preoperative CRP saw a positive correlation between weight loss and telomere length. In those with high LDL cholesterol, also known as "bad cholesterol," increases in "good cholesterol," known as HDL, were also tied to an increase in telomere length.

"Obesity has an adverse effect on health, causes pre-mature aging and reduces life expectancy. This is the first study to show that surgical weight loss may be able to reverse the effects," study co-author Dr. John M. Morton, chief of bariatric surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, said in a statement. "If your telomeres get longer, you're likely to reverse the effects of aging and have a lower risk of developing a wide range of age-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart and respiratory diseases, and certain types of cancer."