Study finds weight loss surgery benefits obese teens for at least 3 years

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The largest, longest study of teen obesity surgery shows huge weight loss and health gains can last at least three years, and many say it's worth the risks.

"I feel awesome. It's like a new life," said Miranda Taylor, a Cincinnati nursing student in the study who had surgery when she was 16 and weighed 265 pounds. She lost more than 100 pounds, along with severe depression, pre-diabetes and an obesity-related hormonal condition.

Although she has since gained about 20 pounds, she's still healthy and has surpassed her initial goal of fitting into size 16 jeans — she wears size 14.

"I knew that this might not get me down to like model-size, which I wasn't concerned about. I just wanted to be able to fit into a healthy size," said Taylor, now 20.

Many of the 228 teens studied started out about three times heavier than what is considered healthy — almost 330 pounds on average. Their average weight loss was more than 90 pounds and for many, obesity-related health problems that vanished early after surgery remained at bay three years later.

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