Fitness level affects the outcome of weight loss surgery

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Patients with morbid obesity who have a low level of fitness have a poorer outcome after weight loss surgery.
For people with morbid obesity, weight loss surgery - which shrinks the stomach - can be life-saving. But it is not without complications. And now a team at William Beaumont Hospital reveals that patients with a low level of fitness tend to do worse after this kind of surgery.

They looked at a group of 109 patients, three quarters of whom were women, and divided them into groups according to their level of morbid obesity and fitness. Those with the highest level of obesity and lowest fitness had a seven times higher risk of complications compared with those whose were less obese and had a higher level of fitness. Their surgery took longer, their post-operative recovery times were greater, and complications like unstable angina, renal failure and deep vein thrombosis were more common. The researchers say that it is important that doctors measure a patient's fitness when they present for weight loss surgery. Improving fitness and losing some weight prior to surgery could improve the outcome.

Source
Chest August 2006

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