Outcomes of bariatric surgery in adolescents

The adult obesity epidemic has grown in severity over the past several decades, and an equally worrisome rise in obesity prevalence in children ominously portends a future worsening of this obesity epidemic in all ages. The prevalence of adolescent obesity has tripled over the last three decades and approximately 4% of US children are currently affected with extreme obesity (BMI for age > 99th percentile). The consequences of pediatric and adolescent obesity are becoming clearer, and are worrisome. Although it is widely held that behavioral and dietary treatment approaches have greater efficacy for pediatric obesity than for adult obesity, extreme pediatric obesity is usually not amenable to either conventional dietary and medication regimens, with only a 2% to 3% decrease in BMI expected. Thus, it is unlikely that dietary interventions alone will effect durable long-term weight reduction and comorbidity resolution for most adolescents.