Obese middle-aged men and women who undergo bariatric surgery for weight loss may have reduced their risk of death by 50 per cent than those tackling their weight through diet and behaviour alone, finds a study. Weight loss is achieved by reducing the size of the stomach with a gastric band or through removal of a portion of the stomach (sleeve gastrectomy or biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch) or by resecting and re-routing the small intestine to a small stomach pouch or (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass(RYGB)surgery).