24 May 2016 Press Release – BANT Response to Guidelines that Propose that Surgery Be Considered a Standard Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

BANT cautions against a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution of bariatric surgery as standard option for treatment of type 2 diabetes in obese patients. Obesity and diabetes are complex issues which require interventions at multiple levels to achieve both effective prevention and successful treatment of existing problems and where necessary, bariatric surgery may be one of the solutions. However, diabetes does not happen overnight. It happens over years of chronically raised blood sugar and insulin levels stemming from excessive refined carbohydrate intake, increased stress levels, systemic inflammation and lack of exercise. BANT recommends that GPs refer patients at risk of obesity or diabetes to Registered Nutritional Therapists or Dieticians as early as possible to give them an opportunity to manage their lifestyle and diet to avoid onset of diabetes. Click here to access the full press release.