How having gastric band op could lead to the divorce court

THE good news about having a gastric band fitted? It can lead to dramatic weight loss and improved health. The bad news? It could wreck your marriage.

Researchers found divorce rates nearly doubled among obese people who had the surgery compared to those who did not.

Sudden weight loss is thought to put strain on relationships as it can cause a number of lifestyle changes – such as taking up hobbies – or leave a partner feeling ‘jealous or no longer needed’.

Experts also believe it can empower people to leave unhealthy relationships by boosting self-confidence.

Patients who shed the most pounds – around a third of their previous body weight – were the most likely to divorce or separate.

Swedish researchers from the University of Gothenburg studied 1,958 obese patients who had bariatric surgery – a gastric band – and 1,912 obese patients who did not.

They found single obese people who had the surgery were more likely to form new relationships and get married within four to ten years than those who did not have the procedure.

But those already in relationships were more likely to divorce or separate following surgery than those who did not have it. Nearly one in ten patients were separated or divorced within four years of their procedure, compared with around one in 20 who did not have surgery.

And over ten years, a total of 17% of weight-loss surgery patients were divorced or separated, compared with 11.6% of the control group.

Researchers also found similar results when they compared statistics from a database of 30,000 gastric band patients with details of 300,000 people from the Swedish population.

They found 14% of gastric band patients divorced within four years, compared to 8% of similar people who did not have the operation.

Writing in the journal JAMA Surgery, the study’s authors said: ‘Although most post-bariatric surgery patients and their partners report an overall maintained, or increased, quality in the relationship, partners of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery sometimes report feeling jealous or no longer needed.’

Commenting on the research, Joseph Imbus and Luke Funk, of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, said: ‘[After surgery] selfconfidence often increases.

‘Behaviours change as patients have the opportunity to engage in activities for the first time in years or to develop new passions.’