A new report has found obese people experience nutritional deficiencies after weight loss surgery. The author and spokesperson for Dietitians Association of Australia, Melody McGrice, says deficiences in nutrients like protein, iron, folate and calcium are more common in people who have had gastric banding, than those who haven’t had surgery to lose weight. She says while obesity surgery is a safe and effective tool to help with weight loss in morbidly obese people it doesn’t teach them how to eat well to stay healthy.
The report has prompted the Dietitians Association of Australia to urge Medicare to include dietary management of obesity as a rebate.
Melody McGrice spoke to Lizzie Orley about the study.