London, Jan 28 (IANS): Researchers have found found that weight-loss surgery may reduce by over one third the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

The study, published in the British Journal of Surgery (BJS), showed that patients who underwent bariatric surgery had a greater than 35 per cent reduction in the risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with obese individuals who had no surgery.

"Day by day, the scientific community is continuing to uncover the benefits of weight- loss surgery, and this paper affirms this," said study lead author Sulaiman Almazeedi from Jaber Al-Ahmed Hospital in Kuwait.

"Obesity today remains one of the most preventable causes of morbid disease and early death, and despite the controversy, we believe weight-loss surgery can be an important tool in tackling this epidemic," Almazeedi added.

Obesity increases the risk of many medical conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and most cancers, including colorectal cancer.

According to the researchers, the BJS analysis, which included seven studies with a total of 12,13,727 patients and an average follow-up of seven years, was conducted because individual studies have presented conflicting results.

This meta analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of bariatric surgery on the risk of developing colorectal cancer in obese individuals.

The overall risk of developing colorectal cancer was three in 1,000 in patients with obesity who underwent weight-loss surgery, compared with four in 1,000 in those who did not, the study said.