Sunlight Exposure May Boost Weight Loss Surgery Outcomes

A new study shares how sunlight can help people who underwent weight loss surgery fare post-op.

US researchers led by Leigh Peterson, a PhD fellow and nutritionist of the Bariatric Surgery Department of Johns Hopkins Center shared that people who underwent bariatric surgery, a common weight loss procedure, and exposed to sunlight fared better than their counterparts who had less.

For the study, they analyzed the medical data of almost a million weight loss surgeries in the country over the past ten years since 2001.

Overall, their analysis revealed that the surgery is safe as less than 2% of them experienced complications including longer hospital stays. However, when they factored in exposure to sunlight due to geography and season, they discovered differences.

For example, they found out that most of the complications reported such as infection and non-healing of the wounds occurred mostly in the colder seasons with less amount of sunshine. To be more specific, while they were only 172 patients who had complications in the summer, the number rose to almost 350 or twice the patients come winter.

Furthermore, those who lived in the north or 37 degrees north of latitude tend to recover worse than the ones in the south. It's estimated that the north group had almost 160,000 more patients admitted for an extended stay, which was equal to at least three more days.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient as it promotes proper bone growth and development and helps boost immunity. Previous studies have also revealed that it can be beneficial to people who undergo surgery since it reduces the risk of inflammation, a common complication and risk.

There are two ways on how the body gets vitamin D. Although supplements are available, experts agree the best method is sunlight exposure as UVB rays can then be synthesized by the body to create vitamin D.

The researchers, however, add that the study has limitations, and their analysis must not immediately mean weight loss surgery patients should take vitamin D supplements.