Yes, if you are significantly obese and have tried and failed to lose weight through diet and exercise. Obesity is a major contributor to Type 2 diabetes, in which the hormone insulin becomes less effective at its job, escorting sugar into cells; weight loss is the best way to control diabetes.

For people who can’t lose enough weight by diet and exercise, bariatric surgery is an increasingly popular option; the number of such surgeries has quadrupled since 2000, reaching 177,600 this year, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

There are two main methods – one in which the stomach is “banded” to constrict its size, and the other, a more involved but more effective approach called “gastric bypass”, in which the stomach is divided in two so that most food bypasses the larger section and goes straight to the small intestine. By making it difficult for the patient to consume much food, both procedures lead to weight loss.

In 2004, a major study called the Swedish Obese Subjects Study showed that, after 10 years, diabetes disappeared in 36 percent of patients who had the surgery, compared to 13 percent who did not.

“The improvement of diabetes control is unquestionable,” said Dr. Martin Abrahamson, medical director at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. “It occurs following bariatric surgery in 80 percent of patients

With the banding approach, American patients typically lose 40 to 45 percent of their excess weight; with bypass, they lose 70 percent, said Dr. Edward C. Mun, director of bariatric surgery at Faulkner Hospital.

The procedures are not without risks. The risk of death following banding surgery is about one in 1,000 patients, said Mun. After gastric bypass, it’s three in 1000. The major risks are bleeding, infection, blood clots and leakage of intestinal fluids into the abdomen.

If you are overweight and have Type 2 diabetes and can lose sufficient weight with diet and exercise, go for it. If you can’t and your BMI, or body mass index, is 35 or higher, talk to your doctor about surgery. (For help calculating your BMI, go to www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.