The short-term benefits of weight loss surgery are well-known in severely obese people, but a new study finds that improvements in diabetes and blood pressure may hold up for years after the procedures.

At six-year patient follow-ups, three quarters of people who'd undergone gastric bypass surgery had lost at least 20 percent of their pre-surgery weight and kept it off, researchers found.

According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, about 200,000 people have weight loss surgery every year. The procedures run about $20,000 each.

Read more from Reuters.