Obesity Facts · 6 authors, 4 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This prospective cohort study of 431 adults with obesity found that a pre-treatment preference for obesity surgery significantly predicted the actual receipt of surgery after behavioral weight loss treatment, an association mediated by higher body mass index before and after treatment, but not by the percentage of total body weight loss.
A prospective cohort study analyzed data from 431 adults with obesity beginning a 1-year routine care behavioral weight loss treatment (BWLT). Patients were assessed before and after BWLT for their preference for obesity surgery (OS), along with anthropometric, medical, and psychological data. The results showed that a minority (11.6%) preferred OS pre-BWLT, which increased to 27.4% post-BWLT. A pre-BWLT preference for OS significantly predicted the receipt of OS post-BWLT. This predictive association was mediated by higher body mass index (BMI) pre- and post-BWLT, but not by the percentage of total body weight loss (%TBWL) during BWLT. Patients with a constant or emerging preference for OS had less favorable characteristics than those without or with a vanishing preference. Limitations include the study being conducted in a specific routine care program in Germany, potential lack of generalizability, and no assessment of patients' initial knowledge about OS. The findings suggest that pre-BWLT OS preference is a predictor of OS receipt, driven by higher BMI rather than poor weight loss outcome.
