Study shows multiple benefits of bariatric surgery for severely obese teens

Young people diagnosed with severe obesity who had weight-loss surgery at age 19 or younger have achieved sustained weight loss 10 years later, researchers reported on Oct. 30, 2024 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Our study presents impressive outcomes of the longest follow-up of weight loss surgery during adolescence, which validates bariatric surgery as a safe and effective long-term obesity management strategy,” said lead author Justin Ryder, PhD, Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

The Teen Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) is a prospective multicenter observational study involving adolescents (13 to 19 years of age) undergoing bariatric surgery.

The investigators reported the 10-year outcomes in the study.

Subjects had undergone either gastric bypass (n=161) or sleeve gastrectomy (n=99) at a mean age of 17 years.

Overall, 83% of the subjects completed their 10-year postoperative visits.

The investigators reported that, at 10 years, BMI had decreased significantly (mean change −20.0%, P<0.001).

BMI reduction was similar with gastric bypass (mean change −20.6% and sleeve gastrectomy (mean change −19.2%).

At 10 years, bariatric surgery was associated with a 55% reduction of type 2 diabetes, 57% reduction of hypertension, and 54% reduction of abnormal cholesterol. Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy were similar in these results.

“This is considerably better than the outcomes reported in people who underwent bariatric surgery as adults, a major reason why treating obesity seriously in adolescents is so important,” added  Ryder.

The authors noted that in the U.S. bariatric surgery is under-utilized, with only one out of every 2,500 teens with severe obesity undergoing the procedure.

The authors concluded, “These findings show the long-term durability of weight loss and remission of coexisting conditions after bariatric surgery, as well as the greater health benefits and durability of the effects in adolescents than would be expected in similarly treated adults.”