Exercise May Protect Bone Health After Weight Loss Surgery

Although weight loss surgery is a highly effective treatment for obesity, it can be detrimental to bone health, say, researchers, adding that exercise may help address this shortcoming.

Exercise has been suggested as a therapeutic approach to attenuate bone loss induced by bariatric surgery (BS), but its effectiveness remains unclear. The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, aimed to determine if an exercise-training program could induce benefits on bone mass after bariatric surgery.

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"These findings showed that a structured exercise program may be a valid treatment option to minimize weight loss surgery-induced bone loss, which may be particularly important since many patients undergo surgery in early adulthood or even at pediatric ages," said lead author Florêncio Diniz-Sousa from the University of Porto in Portugal.

The research team randomized 84 patients undergoing weight loss surgery to an exercise group or a control group for 11 months. The exercise group performed a high impact, balance, and resistance exercises three times per week.

Twelve months after surgery, participants in the exercise group had higher bone mineral density measurements at the lumbar spine and the forearm compared with those in the control group.

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Also, participants who attended at least half of the exercise sessions had higher bone mineral density at the femoral neck than those in the control group. The findings suggest that an exercise program is an effective strategy to ameliorate bone health in post-bariatric surgery patients.

"As stated in recently released World Health Organization physical activity guidelines, regular exercise should be a priority for everyone, including patients who have undergone weight loss surgery," Diniz-Sousa added. (IANS)