(RxWiki News) For anyone, exercising is a key element in losing weight. For bariatric surgery patients, though, experts were not sure if intense exercise was a possibility. A new study smashes that theory.
Rigorous exercise can benefit patients who have just undergone bariatric surgery, according to recent research.
"Vigorous activity is not just for the physically fit. Bariatric patients can participate, too."
The study’s senior author, Abhimanyu Garg, M.D., chief of nutrition and metabolic diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern, found that most bariatric surgery patients are able to perform intense exercise while improving their physical fitness level.
The study included 33 adults who were randomly split into two groups: an exercising group and a non-exercise group. The exercise group worked out at least five days a week. All participants were asked to eat between 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day.
At the end of the 12-week study, researchers found that the exercise group was able to increase the amount of calories burned per week. Additionally, more than half of the participants were able to burn 2,000 calories a week. All participants lost an average of 10 pounds, but the exercise group showed exceptional aerobic fitness.
This study shows that intense exercise after bariatric surgery helped participants lose weight and avoid weight regain, Dr. Garg concludes.
The research is published in Obesity.
