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Summary Background Data We previously reported, in a study of 608 patients, that the gastric bypass operation (GB) controls type 2 diabetes mellitus in the morbidly obese patient more effectively than any medical therapy. Further, we showed for the first time that it was possible to reduce the mortality from diabetes; GB reduced the chance of dying from 4.5% per year to 1% per year. This control of diabetes has been ascribed to the weight loss induced by the operation. These studies, in weight-stable women, were designed to determine whether weight loss was really the important factor.

Methods Fasting plasma insulin, fasting plasma glucose, minimal model-derived insulin sensitivity and leptin levels were measured in carefully matched cohorts: six women who had undergone GB and had been stable at their lowered weight 24 to 30 months after surgery versus a control group of six women who did not undergo …