Recommendations Summary

Adult Weight Management (AWM) Bariatric Surgery for Weight Loss

Click here to see the explanation of recommendation ratings (Strong, Fair, Weak, Consensus, Insufficient Evidence) and labels (Imperative or Conditional). To see more detail on the evidence from which the following recommendations were drawn, use the hyperlinks in the Supporting Evidence Section below.

• Recommendation(s)

  AWM: Bariatric Surgery for Weight Loss

  Dietitians should collaborate with other members of the health care team regarding the appropriateness of bariatric surgery for people who have not achieved weight loss goals with less invasive weight loss methods and who meet the NHLBI criteria. Separate ADA evidence based guidelines are being developed on nutrition care in bariatric surgery.

  Rating: Strong
  Imperative

  • Risks/Harms of Implementing This Recommendation

    None.

  • Conditions of Application

    No conditions specified.

  • Potential Costs Associated with Application

    None.

  • Recommendation Narrative

    • Gastrointestinal surgery can result in a substantial weight loss, and therefore is an available weight loss option for well-informed and motivated patients with a BMI >=40 or >=35 with comorbid conditions and acceptable operative risks. NHLBI Category B.
    • Weight loss surgery is an option for carefully selected patients with clinically severe obesity (BMI >=40 or >=35 with comorbid conditions) when less invasive methods of weight loss have failed and the patient is at high risk for obesity-associated morbidity or mortality.  NHLBI Evidence Cateogry B.

  • Recommendation Strength Rationale

    • NHLBI Evidence Categories of B

  • Minority Opinions

    Consensus reached.

• Supporting Evidence

  The recommendations were created from the evidence analysis on the following questions. To see detail of the evidence analysis, click the blue hyperlinks below (recommendations rated consensus will not have supporting evidence linked).

  • References
  • References not graded in Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Process

    The Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults: The Evidence Report, NIH Publication No. 98-4083, September 1998, produced by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

    Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/e_txtbk/txgd/40.htm

    To access the pdf of the NHLBI Clinical Guidelines click here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/e_txtbk/index.htm