Weight-loss surgery is changing many obese individuals' lives for the better, but the procedure also comes with some significant downsides — particularly for women, according to new research by Norwegian obesity specialists, Newsmax Health reports.

The study, reported by Medical News Today, found many women who undergo bariatric surgery experience a boost in self-esteem and quality of life, but not everyone "lives happily ever after" following such procedures.

Many struggle with food disorders, body image problems, and lack of energy, according to Karen Synne Groven, of the University of Oslo in Norway, who interviewed 22 women who underwent gastric bypass surgery — one of the most common weight-loss procedures, in which a surgeon reroutes a part of the small intestine past the stomach in order to reduce food intake and suppress hunger.

Groven found many of the women felt embarrassment after the surgery; some told others they had been on a diet to lose the weight because they were ashamed to say they had undergone bariatric surgery. Some reported a lower quality of life afterward, compared with their quality of life before, mostly due to chronic stomach and intestine problems tied to the procedures.