On Tuesday, researchers, after an extensive study, revealed that severely obese teens who had undergone surgery in order to limit what they could eat ended up losing more weight and managed to enjoy more health benefits in the long-term, as compared to those who followed an intensive lifestyle program.

As was revealed by the study researchers, 21 of the 25 severely obese youngsters, aged between 14 to 18 years, who underwent a form by gastric banding, lost over 50% of their excess weight, compared with a mere 3 out of 25 who followed a diet, exercise and behavior modification regime.

"In this study, gastric banding proved to be an effective intervention leading to a substantial and durable reduction in obesity and to better health", said lead researchers Dr. Paul O'Brien of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.

Teens included in Dr. O' Brien's research had a BMI of 35 or above and were divided into two groups, and while one underwent a surgery, the other group was put on a lifestyle modification program.

Details of the study have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.