The most common type of weight loss surgery in the United States appears to help patients shed pounds by reducing their intake of fatty foods and helping them stick to a healthier diet, a new study indicates. In Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the stomach is reduced to a small pouch and connected to the middle of the small intestine. While many patients who undergo this type of surgery lose large amounts of weight, it hadn’t been understood exactly how this happened. In a study in rats, researchers found that Roux-en-Y leads to a large reduction in consumption of fatty foods and drinks. This effect lasted for up to 200 days in rodents that underwent the procedure.
