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Bariatric Surgery

Do patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery modify their objectively measured physical activity? A systematic review and meta-analysis

International Journal of Obesity volume 48, pages 315–323 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Obesity is a chronic disease associated with adverse outcomes and its prevalence is increasing, which makes it a concern. One of the obesity treatment options is bariatric surgery, which effectively reduces calorie absorption and total body mass, but its effects on physical activity (PA) levels need to be clarified, considering the protective effect of the PA against cardiovascular disease, independently of the weight loss alone.

Objectives

To carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies that evaluated PA in pre- and post-bariatric surgery periods through objective evaluation.

Methods

A systematic search was carried out following the PRISMA criteria of studies with adult individuals who underwent bariatric surgery and were objectively evaluated for PA pre- and post-surgery. Studies with interventions were excluded.

Results

A total of 419 records were found, and after excluding duplicates and applying the eligibility criteria, 10 studies remained. This meta-analysis found a significant increase in the steps by day (MD = 1340; 95% CI = 933.90; 1745.35, p < 0.001) and the light physical activity level (MD = 16.8 min/day; 95% CI = 2.60; 30.98, p = 0.02), but not in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MD = 0.24; 95% CI = −0.08; 1.57, p = 0.92).

Conclusions

Patients undergoing bariatric surgery increased their steps by day and light physical activity but did not increase moderate to vigorous physical activity.

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Fig. 1: Flowchart of the study selection steps.
Fig. 2: Forest plot for the mean differences between pre- and post-bariatric surgery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Activity and Public Health Research Group (GPASP), Rio Grande, Brazil

    Murilo Bastos, Bruno Pedrini de Almeida & Michael Pereira da Silva

  2. Pharmaceutical Sciences Sector – Midwestern State University (UNICENTRO), Guarapuava, Brazil

    Murilo Bastos

  3. Physical Education Department – Midwestern State University (UNICENTRO), Guarapuava, Brazil

    Camila Gonsalves & Timothy G. Cavazzotto

  4. Graduate Program in Health Sciences – FAMED – FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil

    Bruno Pedrini de Almeida & Michael Pereira da Silva

  5. Graduate Program in Public Health – FAMED – FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil

    Michael Pereira da Silva

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Contributions

MB and CG were the authors responsible for the conceptualization, methodology, search and selection, data extraction and writing of the original draft. BPdA performed the writing and review. TGC performed a written review and meta-analysis. MPdS was the research coordinator and performed the meta-analysis, conceptualization, writing and review of the original draft preparation.

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Correspondence to Murilo Bastos.

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Bastos, M., Gonsalves, C., de Almeida, B.P. et al. Do patients with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery modify their objectively measured physical activity? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Obes 48, 315–323 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-023-01452-9

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