Candidate for Surgery

The new guidelines recommend metabolic and bariatric surgery for individuals with a BMI of 35 or more, regardless of the presence or severity of obesity-related conditions, and suggest considering it for people with a BMI of 30-34.9 and metabolic disease. Additionally, the guidelines suggest that appropriately selected children and adolescents may be eligible for surgery. The experts also recommend considering weight-loss surgery for people who do not achieve substantial or durable weight loss or obesity disease-related improvement using nonsurgical methods, even without metabolic disease. The ASMBS/IFSO Guidelines also suggest that obesity definitions using standard BMI thresholds be adjusted by population and that Asian individuals consider weight-loss surgery beginning at BMI 27.5.