Weight-loss surgery helps keep the pounds off for longer than fat jabs, researchers find

Obese patients who undergo weight-loss surgery keep the pounds off for more than a decade, research has found.

The procedure, known as a sleeve gastrectomy, could offer an alternative to weight-loss jabs after studies showed patients coming off the injections quickly put weight back on.

Researchers from Assuta Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, followed 300 patients over ten years and found that a sleeve gastrectomy slashed weight but also improved their long-term quality of life. 

Ten years on from the surgery, patients were, on average, 25 per cent thinner than they were before the procedure.

The study, published in the Obesity Journal, found only 6 per cent of patients reported being in a worse condition than before surgery, which was mainly due to insufficient weight loss.

Gastric surgery is on the rise, according to NHS data published last week, with 7,000 weight-loss surgeries recorded in England in 2025 – around 1,600 more than the previous year.

During a sleeve gastrectomy surgeons remove about 70 to 80 per cent of the stomach, leaving behind a narrow ‘sleeve’ roughly the size and shape of a banana.

The operation is usually performed laparoscopically – small incisions are made in the abdomen through which the surgeon works using a camera and long, thin instruments. 

The procedure, known as a sleeve gastrectomy, could offer an alternative to weight-loss jabs (file image)

Most people lose around 50 to 70 per cent of their excess body weight within the first one to two years after the op, according to studies.

To get the surgery on the NHS patients must have a BMI over 35 and a life-limiting condition caused by their weight, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Patients must also be able to show that it is their last resort and that they have tried other methods of weight loss.

The study’s authors wrote: ‘This reaffirms the effectiveness of [laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy] in achieving substantial weight loss, enhancing quality of life, and promoting long-term adoption of healthier lifestyle behaviours.’

Experts warn that possible side effects include blood clots, hernias and gallstones, while one in 200 procedures results in death.