201: The Truth About Weight Loss Surgery: Does It Really Make You Thin and Healthy? (Part 1)

Nov 4, 2025

A deep dive into what weight loss surgeries actually do and how unpredictable outcomes can be. A rundown of surgery types, common complications, and lifelong nutrient problems. Discussion of surgical revisions, substance use risks, and conflicting mortality data. Reflections on stigma, community responses, and the ethical questions raised by pushing surgery as a solution.

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INSIGHT

Surgery Creates Disease-State Digestive Change

Weight-loss surgeries intentionally disrupt normal digestive function and create new health risks in hopes of shrinking bodies.
Long-term outcomes are unpredictable and we lack reliable data past five to ten years.

ANECDOTE

Lap Band Caused Severe Swallowing And Pain

Vinny reads Christy Harrison's account of Sarah Harry's lap band complications and repeated hospitalisations.
The band adjustments caused severe swallowing issues, chronic pain, and multiple surgeries.

ADVICE

Question Systemic Pressure To Operate On Fatness

Critique systems that coerce fat people into interventions rather than policing individuals.
Reject using surgery as a gatekeeping requirement for other health care access.

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Does weight loss surgery make you thin and healthy? What percentage of people is it successful for? Are the side effects worth it and what are they exactly? This episode is a deep dive into "bariatric" surgery AKA "weight loss" surgery AKA stomach amputation. TW: There are mentions of the types of surgeries, outcomes and side effects as well as general awful stuff fat people endure.

Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/201

Support me on Ko-Fi and get the Size Diversity Resource Guide: https://kofi.com/fiercefatty/tiers

Comparison of the Performance of Common Measures of Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2707460

All‑Cause and Cause‑Specific Mortality Associated with Bariatric Surgery: A Review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5055056/

Body Image Disturbances and Weight Bias After Obesity Surgery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8012323/

Coping With "Ob*sity" Stigma Affects Depressed Mood: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5670735/

Death Rates and Causes of Death After Bariatric Surgery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4888907/

Depression, Anxiety, and Binge Eating Before and After Bariatric Surgery: https://www.scielo.br/j/abcd/a/tZXDCfc855KxdXcFKTbVtHR/?lang=en

Diabetes after Bariatric Surgery: https://www.canadianjournalofdiabetes.com/article/S1499-2671(16)30072-7/fulltext

Ethical Questions About Surgery Raised by Scientists: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/196339

Late Relapse of Diabetes After Bariatric Surgery: https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/43/3/534/35625/Late-Relapse-of-Diabetes-After-Bariatric-Surgery

Long-Term Follow-up After Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1900516

Long-Term Outcomes After Bariatric Surgery: Systematic Review & Meta-analysis: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-018-3525-0

Mineral Malnutrition Following Bariatric Surgery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3771134/

Patient Experiences of Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery: Systematic Review: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.12518

Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders Before and After Bariatric Surgery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3682834/

Recent Experiences of Weight-based Stigmatization in a Weight Loss Surgery Population: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2008.457

Risk of Suicide and Non-Fatal Self-Harm After Bariatric Surgery: Two Cohort Studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5932484/

Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm Is Increased After Bariatric Surgery: Meta-analysis: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11695-018-3493-4

Substance Use After Bariatric Surgery: A Review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789154/

Survival Among High-Risk Patients After Bariatric Surgery: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21666276/

No Evidence That Bariatric Surgeries Save Healthcare Costs or Lives: http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/09/no-evidence-that-bariatric-surgeries.html

The Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Psychological Health: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2013/837989/

Untold Stories of Living with a Bariatric Body: Long-Term Experiences of Weight-Loss Surgery: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9566.12999

"But Everything Is Supposed to Get Better After Surgery!" Understanding Postoperative Suicide and Self-Injury: https://bariatrictimes.com/understanding-postoperative-suicide-self-injury/

Long-Term Weight Regain After Gastric Bypass: A 5-Year Prospective Study: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5459557_Long-term_Weight_Regain_after_Gastric_Bypass_A_5-year_Prospective_Study

Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison: https://christyharrison.com/book-anti-diet-intuitive-eating-christy-harrison

Food Junk Science Blog: http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/01/junkfood-science-weekend-special.html

Suicide Rates After Bariatric Surgery: https://bariatrictimes.com/understanding-postoperative-suicide-self-injury/#:~:text=Based%20on%20their%20analysis%2C%20the,3.2%E2%80%935.1%2F10%2C000

Kaitlin Anderle Who Had Surgery: https://www.instagram.com/p/B9B7HwSh3RM/

Roxane Gay - What Fullness Is: https://gay.medium.com/the-body-that-understands-what-fullness-is-f2e40c40cd75

Lindo Bacon on Bariatric Surgery: https://www.lindobacon.com/HAESbook/pdf_files/HAES_Bariatric-Surgery.pdf

Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders Before and After Bariatric Surgery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3682834/#:~:text=There%20is%20some%20evidence%20that

Mineral Malnutrition Following Bariatric Surgery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3771134/#:~:text=Bariatric%20surgery%20exacerbates%20preexisting%20malnutrition,with%20micronutrient%20supplementation%20following%20surgery

Substance Use After Bariatric Surgery: A Review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789154/

Early Mortality Among Medicare Beneficiaries Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16234496/#:~:text=The%20rates%20of%2030%2Dday,001

Death Rates and Causes of Death After Bariatric Surgery for Pennsylvania Residents: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4888907/

No Evidence That Bariatric Surgeries Save Healthcare Costs or Save Lives: http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/09/no-evidence-that-bariatric-surgeries.html

Ethical Questions About Surgery Raised by Scientists: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/196339

Suicide Rates: https://bariatrictimes.com/understanding-postoperative-suicide-self-injury/#:~:text=Based%20on%20their%20analysis%2C%20the,3.2%E2%80%935.1%2F10%2C000

Long-Term Weight Regain After Gastric Bypass: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5459557_Long-term_Weight_Regain_after_Gastric_Bypass_A_5-year_Prospective_Study

Association of Race With Bariatric Surgery Outcomes (Wood et al., 2019): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2727128

Racial Disparities in Bariatric Surgery Complications and Mortality Using the MBSAQIP Data Registry (Welsh et al., 2020): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7223417/