Studies in the US appear to suggest it possibly is better than other treatments.

However one surgeon warns that it is important that people considering getting stomach bypass surgery carried out go to someone who has performed a large number of them.

According to one New York Surgeon, Dr. Mitchell Roslin: “[Gastric bypass surgery is] a diet with a seatbelt.”

There are three variations of the same type of surgery. The first – a gastric bypass – involves stapling the stomach so that food has to bypass an area of the small intestine. This has been a main procedure for many years now.

In 2001 a new development called Lap-Banding was introduced. This involves dividing the stomach into 2 sections or areas by means of a band. This makes digestion of food more difficult, thus preventing the obese individual eating too much.

Another method is known as Sleeve Gastrectomy. This is perhaps a more drastic treatment as surgeons remove parts of the stomach.

Each method was recently compared to determine their efficacy. Obese patients were divided into groups. The bypass group lost an average of 64% of excess weight compared to 36% for those who had Lap-Banding. Further, out of those who underwent the former surgical technique about three quarters had improved diabetic control.

In a second study bypass surgery was compared with Sleeve Gastrectomy. Similar results favoured the gastric bypass approach.

Dr. Roslin said: “Everyone thinks that all weight-loss operations are the same, even the doctors and the surgeons. [But] they’re different, and they have different resolutions of comorbidities and probably should be used for different indications.”