Bariatric Surgery: Does Pre-Surgery Weight Loss Predict Post-Surgery Weight Loss?

Preoperative weight loss alone does not predict postoperative weight loss after bariatric surgery, according to a recent study.

For their study, the researchers reviewed the charts of 218 patients who had received psychological evaluation and bariatric surgery. Follow-up occurred at 1 year post-surgery. Although all patients were encouraged to lose weight preoperatively, no specified amount of weight loss was required.
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Preoperative and postoperative weight loss were measured in body mass index (BMI), percent of excess weight loss, and percent of total weight loss. Factors including age, race, sex, depression status, number of unhealthy eating types, and comorbidities were taken into account.

Results of the study showed that all patients had experienced a mean 28% reduction in BMI (63.3% excess weight loss and 29.1% total weight loss) at 1 year post-surgery. The researchers noted that, although preoperative weight loss as a single independent variable predicted 1-year change in postoperative BMI, its predictive value became nonsignificant following adjustment for age, race, and sex.

“The present findings indicate that preoperative weight loss should not be considered in isolation when clearance for bariatric surgery is being evaluated,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Krimpuri RD, Yokley JM, Seeholzer EL, Horwath EL, Thomas CL, Bardaro SJ. Qualifying for bariatric surgery: is preoperative weight loss a reliable predictor of postoperative weight loss? Surg Obes Rel Dis. 2018;14(1):60-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soard.2017.07.012.