The study, which was inspired by an episode on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," shows that not only do obesity-surgery patients become drunk more easily than the average person - they also take longer to sober up.
AP quotes Dr. John Morton, assistant professor of surgery at Stanford University Medical Center and the study's lead author, as saying, "A lot of people think they can have one glass of wine and be OK. The concern here is they really can't."
Doctors who perform gastric bypass, or stomach stapling, surgeries often warn their patients about drinking alcohol, but no research was carried out until Winfrey discussed the issue on her show last October.
When more questions poured in from public for more details on the matter, Morton conducted a survey on 36 men and women, 19 of whom had obesity surgery and 17 who did not. Both the groups were given five ounces of red wine each to drink in 15 minutes.
The result indicated that more than 70 percent of the surgery patients hit a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent, which qualifies as legally intoxicated in California, and two reached levels above 0.15.
Comparatively, the control group had levels below 0.05 percent. Also, the obesity patients took 108 minutes on average to return to a zero blood-alcohol level versus 72 minutes for the control group.
The researchers attributed this change to a lower production of a certain enzyme in obesity surgery patients. This enzyme helps breaks down alcohol because their stomachs are smaller. Also, the alcohol passes to their small intestine faster, speeding up absorption.
The doctors now say that obesity surgery patients should never have more than a couple of drinks in a single sitting, and should strictly avoid driving afterward.
