Hot MedFax

Here's another reason for women to have bariatric surgery: it may prevent you from getting uterine cancer. A new study has shown that w omen who had bariatric surgery to lose weight had a 70 percent lower risk of uterine cancer and an even lower risk if they kept the weight off, according to newswise.com. Cancer of the uterus is the fourth most common female reproductive cancer.  If caught early, it's highly treatable. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that half a million women each year survive this cancer. About 50,000 women will be diagnosed with it this year. But here's the thing: a bout half of all cases of endometrial (uterine) cancer can be traced to obesity. Obese women are two to four times more likely to develop endometrial cancer than those of normal weight. “We found that after women had bariatric surgery, their risk of uterine cancer plummeted and became the same or perhaps even a little less than in women who were not obese,” the Web site

So maybe you're not fat enough to need bariatric surgery . But it gives those who choose it an unfair advantage over the rest of us.  It just may turn back the clock. According to newswise.com, "Stanford University researchers say surgical weight loss may turn back the effects of aging at a genetic level." Scientists measured the length of patients' telomeres.  Telomeres, or chromosome caps, are genetic biomarkers that play an important role in cellular aging and in the development of disease. "As people age or have chronic disease, their telomeres become shorter," the Web site reports.  But bariatric surgery somehow lengthens them. While patients who underwent this surgery saw their bad cholesterol and high levels of inflammation decrease, they also saw their telomeres grow longer. The length of telomeres is significant, because every time they divide, they get shorter. And the shorter they are, the shorter your life may be.  But that doesn’t mean