Long‐Term Benefit of Gastric Bypass Surgery on Fitness
Authors' conclusion
An initially dramatic fitness benefit achieved with weight loss in MBS patients gradually declined but remained higher than non-surgery counterparts beyond a decade. An emphasis on physical activity may help sustain improved fitness after bariatric surgery.
Study context
- Population
- Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) patients and comparable non-surgery participants from the Utah Obesity Study97 did maximal tests
- Participants
- 170 patients
- Exposure
- MBS vs non-surgery
- SURGn = 82
- NSURGn = 88reference
- Outcome
- Fitness: treadmill time (submaximal and maximal treadmill tests, modified Bruce protocol)
- Follow-up
- Baseline and 11.5 years
Methodological detailssubset of the Utah Obesity Study
- Subset of the Utah Obesity Study
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Treadmill time, adjusted for sex, baseline treadmill time and weight · all follow-up visits over 11.5 years
- Treadmill time elevated with SURG vs NSURG at all follow-up visits; fitness advantage gradually decreased over time
- SURG vs NSURG: P < 0.01
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| BMI and weight · all follow-up visitsLower with SURG | P < 0.0001 |
BMI and weight · all follow-up visits
- SURG had lower BMI and weight than NSURG at all follow-up visits
Original publication
Long‐Term Benefit of Gastric Bypass Surgery on Fitness. Obesity (Silver Spring). Published 8 October 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →