According to the largest, longest study of teen obesity surgery, huge weight loss and health gains can last for at least three years, and many have said that it's worth the risks.

During the study, a Cincinnati nursing student Miranda Taylor had surgery at the age of 16 when she weighed 265 pounds. She said that she feels awesome, and it was like a new life for her. Post surgery, she lost over 100 pounds, along with pre-diabetes, extreme depression and an obesity-related hormonal condition.

Although since then, she has put up nearly 20 pounds, she's still healthy and has surpassed her initial goal of getting fit into size 16 jeans as she now wears size 14. Taylor, now 20, said, “I knew that this might not get me down to like model-size, which I wasn't concerned about. I just wanted to be able to fit into a healthy size”.

When the study was started, many of the participating 228 teens were nearly three times heavier than what can be considered as healthy, about 330 pounds on average. The average weight loss in them was over 90 pounds and for many, obesity-related health issues that disappeared early post surgery stayed at bay three years later.

Even after three years, most remained obese with only 5%, who achieved a normal weight.

There were setbacks too as slightly over half participants developed low iron levels, which can cause anemia, and some suffered vitamin deficiencies. Nearly 13% needed additional operations, mostly due to removal of gallstones linked to obesity but some were due to bowel obstructions or hernias that may have been related to surgery.

A participant lost her life, although according to the researchers, her death was not related to surgery.