Obesity and diabetes are significantly related. In obesity, diabetes occurs due to a defect in insulin secretion associated with increased insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the insulin receptors in the tissues are unable to carry blood sugar (glucose) into the cell for metabolism, resulting in high blood sugar. In short, increasing fat increases insulin resistance.
Stomach sleeve surgery indirectly improves type 2 diabetes in obese people. That is, weight loss and slimming caused by this surgery regulates blood sugar and improves diabetes in a person. For people with diabetes who have a BMI or body mass index above 30 or 35 and the drug has not been able to regulate their blood sugar, gastric sleeve surgery is prescribed as a solution to this problem.
During gastric sleeve surgery, 75% of the stomach is removed and only a small volume remains in the form of a tube. As the stomach shrinks, the amount of food consumed decreases and the patient begins to lose weight. Weight loss, significant changes in gastrointestinal hormones are created. These hormones trigger the release of insulin, which ultimately improves the patient’s type 2 diabetes.
If diabetes is in its early stages, the patient will be relieved of taking diabetes-specific medications (such as insulin and metformin) for years.
