{"id":3821,"date":"2026-09-28T12:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T12:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=3821"},"modified":"2026-09-28T12:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T12:07:39","slug":"clinical-obesity-prevalent-in-bariatric-surgery-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=3821","title":{"rendered":"Clinical obesity prevalent in bariatric surgery candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"ArticleContent\">\n<div class=\"article__below-title\">\n<div class=\" article__posted-date\">\n<p>September 28, 2026<\/p>\n<p>2 min read<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mobile-trust-box\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-5 d-xl-none\">\n<div class=\"trust-box\">\n<div class=\"trust-box-logo d-none d-md-block\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/h5\/feature\/news\/publogos\/hgld\/healio_gastro.svg?la=en&amp;h=40&amp;w=152&amp;hash=2C654A538F2E250F5183D42A89FE0EC0\" class=\"logo-img\" height=\"40\" alt=\"Healio Logo - Gastroenterology\" width=\"152\"\/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 offset-md-1 offset-xl-0 col-xl-12\">\n<div class=\"email-alert-button-wrapper d-none\" data-component=\"EmailTopicAlert\" data-module=\"Subspecialty Email Topic Alerts Top\" data-manage-email-link=\"\/footer\/account-information\/my-account\/email-subscriptions-and-alerts#emailAlerts\">\n  <hidden data-setting-item=\"d265901d-6d37-49c7-a8f6-c7bf19a02509\"\/><br \/>\n  <hidden data-crm-source=\"Subspecialty Topic Alert\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"email-alert-button d-none\" data-topic-button=\"not-subscribed\">\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n      <span data-module-track-action=\"Email Alerts TOP_Click_Healio News Article\" data-module-track-label=\"Email Alerts TOP_Healio News Article\">&#13;<br \/>\n        <i class=\"fas fa-plus-circle\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n        Add topic to email alerts&#13;<br \/>\n      <\/span>&#13;\n    <\/p>\n<div class=\"email-alert-inner collapse uf7cb8ab69fd24d569e3d4b3c4af43e7d\">\n<div class=\"email-alert-dialogue\">\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n          Receive an email when new articles are posted on <span data-content=\"topic-title\"\/>&#13;\n        <\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none\" data-sign-up-type=\"unknown\">\n          Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on <span data-content=\"topic-title\"\/>.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>      <button type=\"button\" class=\"btn btn-primary\" data-loading-text=\"Loading &lt;i class=\" fa=\"\" fa-spinner=\"\" fa-spin=\"\">&#8220;&#13;<br \/>\n              data-action=&#8221;subscribe&#8221;&gt;&#13;<br \/>\n        Subscribe&#13;<br \/>\n      <\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"d-none\" data-topic-modal=\"failed\">    <strong>We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/news\/gastroenterology\/20260925\/mailto:customerservice@slackinc.com\">customerservice@slackinc.com<\/a>.<\/strong>  <\/p>\n<p><button data-dismiss=\"modal\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg btn-block\">Back to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Key takeaways:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Among metabolic bariatric surgery candidates, 73.8% met criteria for clinical obesity.<\/li>\n<li>These candidates faced higher risk for complications and had greater comorbidity burden and cardiovascular risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>New Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission criteria, which distinguish clinical obesity from preclinical obesity, may better inform patient selection and risk assessment for bariatric surgery than BMI, analysis showed<i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Nearly 75% of surgical candidates met criteria for clinical obesity \u2014 defined as excess adiposity with obesity-related organ dysfunction \u2014 which was associated with greater preoperative disease burden and higher perioperative risk. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"figure article__og-image\">&#13;\n    <picture>&#13;<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.healio.comhttps:\/\/www.healio.comhttps:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/slack-news\/gastroenterology\/misc\/infographics\/2026\/0926\/hgi0826cremona_graphic_01.webp?w=476\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\">&#13;<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/slack-news\/gastroenterology\/misc\/infographics\/2026\/0926\/hgi0826cremona_graphic_01.webp?w=800\" media=\"(max-width: 992px)\">&#13;<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/slack-news\/gastroenterology\/misc\/infographics\/2026\/0926\/hgi0826cremona_graphic_01.webp?w=595\" media=\"(max-width: 1200px)\">&#13;<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.healio.comhttps:\/\/www.healio.comhttps:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/slack-news\/gastroenterology\/misc\/infographics\/2026\/0926\/hgi0826cremona_graphic_01.webp?w=476\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\">&#13;<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.healio.comhttps:\/\/www.healio.comhttps:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/slack-news\/gastroenterology\/misc\/infographics\/2026\/0926\/hgi0826cremona_graphic_01.webp?w=476\">&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/slack-news\/gastroenterology\/misc\/infographics\/2026\/0926\/hgi0826cremona_graphic_01.jpg?w=800\" alt=\"Quote from Francesco Rubino, MD\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid\" width=\"800\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n    <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>&#13;<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">&#13;<br \/>\n      &#13;<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption>&#13;<br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>\u201cBecause this risk doesn\u2019t track with BMI, I think having [a clinical obesity] assessment may inform and improve anesthetic management and surgical planning in general,\u201d <b>Francesco Rubino, MD<\/b><b>,<\/b> chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King\u2019s College London, told Healio. <\/p>\n<p>Metabolic bariatric surgery demonstrates the most effective long-term results of any <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/news\/gastroenterology\/20260630\/qa-gastroenterologists-uniquely-positioned-to-embrace-treating-obesity\" id=\"rId9\" target=\"_blank\">obesity treatment<\/a>, according to study background. Many health systems base patient prioritization for the surgery on BMI thresholds.<\/p>\n<p>However, individuals with similar BMI can present with varied levels of organ dysfunction, Rubino and colleagues noted.<\/p>\n<p>They applied Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission\u2019s clinical and preclinical obesity framework to a retrospective, multicenter cohort of bariatric surgery candidates. <\/p>\n<p>The commission defines preclinical obesity as excess adiposity with no associated organ dysfunction.<\/p>\n<p>Prevalence of clinical obesity served as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the types and prevalence of organ dysfunction, BMI levels, baseline American Society of Anesthesiologists classification and Charlson Comorbidity Index, 10-year cardiovascular risk and incidence of 30-day major postoperative complications.<\/p>\n<p>All participants underwent bariatric surgery between 2014 and 2025 at one of four tertiary centers in the United Kingdom, Spain, France or Brazil.<\/p>\n<p>Of 2,316 surgical candidates included in analysis, 73.8% had clinical obesity (mean age range, 45.6-48.9 years; 67.2% women), whereas 26.2% had preclinical obesity (mean age range, 34.7-40 years, 80.1% women). <\/p>\n<p>Patients with clinical obesity exhibited higher American Society of Anesthesiologists and Charlson Comorbidity Index scores, all-cause mortality risk and greater long-term cardiovascular risk. Clinical obesity was associated with increased 30-day major postoperative complications compared with preclinical obesity in the French cohort. <\/p>\n<p>Researchers observed no statistically significant difference in BMI levels between candidates with clinical obesity vs. preclinical obesity.<\/p>\n<p>Study limitations included potential variability in reporting between the four institutional registries and lack of data on clinical outcomes beyond weight loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no point in saying how much weight loss we have achieved in a person with clinical obesity if that weight loss has not resulted in an improvement or remission of the clinical manifestations,\u201d Rubino said.<\/p>\n<p>Rubino and colleagues recommend future research refine clinical and preclinical obesity prevalence estimates and assess long-term surgical outcomes with prospective studies utilizing standardized clinical assessments.<\/p>\n<p>The study findings may lend themselves to develop improved frameworks for surgical candidate prioritization, individualized treatment and risk stratification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPreclinical obesity is a health risk, but it\u2019s a very heterogeneous one,\u201d Rubino told Healio. \u201cThere will be people with very low risk and people with very high risk. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeveloping systems that allow us to score that risk more appropriately at the individual level, beyond just using BMI, will allow us to understand which preclinical cases can be managed with lifestyle interventions, which ones are higher risk and warrant use of <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/news\/gastroenterology\/20260506\/gastroenterologists-could-bring-structure-and-safety-to-unchecked-glp1-use\" id=\"rId10\" target=\"_blank\">pharmacotherapy<\/a>, and those that have highest risk, where surgical interventions may make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>For more information:<\/h2>\n<p>      <b>Francesco Rubino<\/b><b>, MD,<\/b> can be reached at <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/news\/gastroenterology\/20260925\/mailto:francesco.rubino@kcl.ac.uk\" id=\"rId11\" target=\"_blank\">francesco.rubino@kcl.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__content--footer\">\n<div class=\"publisher-logo\">\n    <span>Published by:<\/span><br \/>\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/~\/media\/h5\/feature\/news\/publogos\/hgld\/healio_gastro.svg?la=en&amp;h=40&amp;w=152&amp;hash=2C654A538F2E250F5183D42A89FE0EC0\" class=\"logo-img\" height=\"40\" alt=\"Healio Logo - Gastroenterology\" width=\"152\"\/>\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"sources-references-disclosures\">\n<h3>Sources\/Disclosures<\/h3>\n<h2> Source: <\/h2>\n<p class=\"citation\">&#13;<br \/>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2852615\" id=\"rId8\" target=\"_blank\">Cremona S, et al. <i>JAMA Netw Open. <\/i>2026;doi:10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2026.28395<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclosures\">\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n        <strong> Disclosures: <\/strong>&#13;<br \/>\n        Rubino reports advisory board fees from Kailera; serving as president of the Metabolic Health Institute; grants from Ethicon (Johnson &amp; Johnson) and Medtronic; personal fees from GI Metabolic Solution; and speaking honoraria from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly &amp; Co., Johnson &amp; Johnson, Medtronic and Novo Nordisk. Please see the study for all other authors\u2019 relevant financial disclosures.&#13;\n      <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- Healio AI Widget --><\/p>\n<div class=\"healio-ai-component-inline\" data-no-ads=\"true\" data-module-track-category=\"Healio AI\" data-module-track-action=\"Click\" data-module-track-label=\"Access Healio Ai from component - News_AI Component - In-Content (all devices)\">\n<div class=\"healio-ai-content\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/m3.healio.com\/~\/media\/images\/healio-ai\/healio-ai_logo.svg\" alt=\"Healio AI\" class=\"healio-ai-logo\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ask a clinical question<\/strong> and tap into <strong>Healio AI&#8217;s knowledge<\/strong> base.<\/p>\n<ul>&#13;<\/p>\n<li>PubMed, enrolling\/recruiting trials, guidelines<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li>Clinical Guidance, Healio CME, FDA news<\/li>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<li>Healio&#8217;s exclusive daily news coverage of clinical data<\/li>\n<p>&#13;\n    <\/ul>\n<p>    <button class=\"healio-ai-button\" onclick=\"window.location.href=\" https:=\"\">Learn more<\/button>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"email-alert-button-wrapper d-none\" data-component=\"EmailTopicAlert\" data-module=\"Subspecialty Email Topic Alerts Top\" data-manage-email-link=\"\/footer\/account-information\/my-account\/email-subscriptions-and-alerts#emailAlerts\">\n  <hidden data-setting-item=\"d265901d-6d37-49c7-a8f6-c7bf19a02509\"\/><br \/>\n  <hidden data-crm-source=\"Subspecialty Topic Alert\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"email-alert-button d-none\" data-topic-button=\"not-subscribed\">\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n      <span data-module-track-action=\"Email Alerts TOP_Click_Healio News Article\" data-module-track-label=\"Email Alerts TOP_Healio News Article\">&#13;<br \/>\n        <i class=\"fas fa-plus-circle\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n        Add topic to email alerts&#13;<br \/>\n      <\/span>&#13;\n    <\/p>\n<div class=\"email-alert-inner collapse uf7cb8ab69fd24d569e3d4b3c4af43e7d\">\n<div class=\"email-alert-dialogue\">\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n          Receive an email when new articles are posted on <span data-content=\"topic-title\"\/>&#13;\n        <\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none\" data-sign-up-type=\"unknown\">\n          Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on <span data-content=\"topic-title\"\/>.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>      <button type=\"button\" class=\"btn btn-primary\" data-loading-text=\"Loading &lt;i class=\" fa=\"\" fa-spinner=\"\" fa-spin=\"\">&#8220;&#13;<br \/>\n              data-action=&#8221;subscribe&#8221;&gt;&#13;<br \/>\n        Subscribe&#13;<br \/>\n      <\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"d-none\" data-topic-modal=\"failed\">    <strong>We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/news\/gastroenterology\/20260925\/mailto:customerservice@slackinc.com\">customerservice@slackinc.com<\/a>.<\/strong>  <\/p>\n<p><button data-dismiss=\"modal\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg btn-block\">Back to Healio<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healio.com\/news\/gastroenterology\/20260925\/clinical-vs-preclinical-obesity-distinction-may-aid-risk-assessment-in-bariatric-surgery\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>September 28, 2026 2 min read &#13; &#13; &#13; Add topic to email alerts&#13; &#13; &#13; Receive an email when new articles are posted on &#13; Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . &#8220;&#13; data-action=&#8221;subscribe&#8221;&gt;&#13; Subscribe&#13; We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com. Back to Healio Key takeaways: Among metabolic bariatric surgery candidates, 73.8% met criteria for clinical obesity. These candidates faced higher risk for complications and had greater comorbidity burden and cardiovascular risk. New Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission criteria, which distinguish clinical obesity from preclinical obesity, may better inform patient selection and risk assessment for bariatric surgery than BMI, analysis showed. Nearly 75% of surgical candidates met criteria for clinical obesity \u2014 defined as excess adiposity with obesity-related organ dysfunction \u2014 which was associated with greater preoperative disease burden and higher perioperative risk. &#13; &#13;&#13;&#13;&#13;&#13;&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13;&#13; &#13; &#13; \u201cBecause this risk doesn\u2019t track with BMI, I think having [a clinical obesity] assessment may inform and improve anesthetic management and surgical planning in general,\u201d Francesco Rubino, MD, chair of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King\u2019s College London, told Healio. Metabolic bariatric surgery demonstrates the most effective long-term results of any obesity treatment, according to study background. Many health systems base patient prioritization for the surgery on BMI thresholds. However, individuals with similar BMI can present with varied levels of organ dysfunction, Rubino and colleagues noted. They applied Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission\u2019s clinical and preclinical obesity framework to a retrospective, multicenter cohort of bariatric surgery candidates. The commission defines preclinical obesity as excess adiposity with no associated organ dysfunction. Prevalence of clinical obesity served as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the types and prevalence of organ dysfunction, BMI levels, baseline American Society of Anesthesiologists classification and Charlson Comorbidity Index, 10-year cardiovascular risk and incidence of 30-day major postoperative complications. All participants underwent bariatric surgery between 2014 and 2025 at one of four tertiary centers in the United Kingdom, Spain, France or Brazil. Of 2,316 surgical candidates included in analysis, 73.8% had clinical obesity (mean age range, 45.6-48.9 years; 67.2% women), whereas 26.2% had preclinical obesity (mean age range, 34.7-40 years, 80.1% women). Patients with clinical obesity exhibited higher American Society of Anesthesiologists and Charlson Comorbidity Index scores, all-cause mortality risk and greater long-term cardiovascular risk. Clinical obesity was associated with increased 30-day major postoperative complications compared with preclinical obesity in the French cohort. Researchers observed no statistically significant difference in BMI levels between candidates with clinical obesity vs. preclinical obesity. Study limitations included potential variability in reporting between the four institutional registries and lack of data on clinical outcomes beyond weight loss. \u201cThere is no point in saying how much weight loss we have achieved in a person with clinical obesity if that weight loss has not resulted in an improvement or remission of the clinical manifestations,\u201d Rubino said. Rubino and colleagues recommend future research refine clinical and preclinical obesity prevalence estimates and assess long-term surgical outcomes with prospective studies utilizing standardized clinical assessments. The study findings may lend themselves to develop improved frameworks for surgical candidate prioritization, individualized treatment and risk stratification. \u201cPreclinical obesity is a health risk, but it\u2019s a very heterogeneous one,\u201d Rubino told Healio. \u201cThere will be people with very low risk and people with very high risk. \u201cDeveloping systems that allow us to score that risk more appropriately at the individual level, beyond just using BMI, will allow us to understand which preclinical cases can be managed with lifestyle interventions, which ones are higher risk and warrant use of pharmacotherapy, and those that have highest risk, where surgical interventions may make sense.\u201d For more information: Francesco Rubino, MD, can be reached at francesco.rubino@kcl.ac.uk. Published by: Sources\/Disclosures Source: &#13; Cremona S, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2026;doi:10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2026.28395. &#13; Disclosures: &#13; Rubino reports advisory board fees from Kailera; serving as president of the Metabolic Health Institute; grants from Ethicon (Johnson &amp; Johnson) and Medtronic; personal fees from GI Metabolic Solution; and speaking honoraria from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly &amp; Co., Johnson &amp; Johnson, Medtronic and Novo Nordisk. Please see the study for all other authors\u2019 relevant financial disclosures.&#13; Ask a clinical question and tap into Healio AI&#8217;s knowledge base. &#13; PubMed, enrolling\/recruiting trials, guidelines &#13; Clinical Guidance, Healio CME, FDA news &#13; Healio&#8217;s exclusive daily news coverage of clinical data &#13; Learn more &#13; &#13; &#13; Add topic to email alerts&#13; &#13; &#13; Receive an email when new articles are posted on &#13; Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . &#8220;&#13; data-action=&#8221;subscribe&#8221;&gt;&#13; Subscribe&#13; We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com. 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