Adjustable Gastric Banding and Conventional Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes

CONTEXT: Observational studies suggest that surgically induced loss of weight may be effective therapy for type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE: To determine if surgically induced weight loss results in better glycemic control and less need for diabetes medications than conventional approaches to weight loss and diabetes control. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Unblinded randomized controlled trial conducted from December 2002 through December 2006 at the University Obesity Research Center in Australia, with general community recruitment to established treatment programs. Participants were 60 obese patients (BMI >30 and