12^th Global Gastroenterologists Meeting

Background: Obesity leads to an impairment of physical function and activity as measured by their inability to perform simple tasks. Literature on the effect of bariatric surgery on physical function and activity is confounding.

 

Methods: Relevant searches were conducted for published research till March 31, 2017 and studies employing objective and self-reported measurement of outcomes were included.

 

Results: Forty studies met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. 27 out of 30 studies (1779 patients) showed a positive effect of bariatric surgery on physical function over 36 months and 12 out of 15 studies (947 patients) showed an improvement in physical activity over the same duration. Physical function improved significantly at 0-6 months (SMD: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.60–1.21; P<0.00001), >6-12 months (SMD: 1.06; 95% CI: 0.76–1.35; P<0.00001), and >12-36 months (SMD: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.07–1.52; P<0.00001). Physical activity shows similar improvements at 0-6 months (SMD: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.02–0.71; P=0.04), >6–12 months (SMD: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.18–0.81; P<0.002), and >12–36 months (SMD: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.07–0.92; P=0.02) after a bariatric procedure.

 

Conclusion: Bariatric surgery offers a significant improvement in physical function and activity in population with obesity. Clinical trials are necessary to fully understand the effects of physical function and activity on obesity after bariatric surgery.