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What Is the Best Treatment before Bariatric Surgery? Exercise, Exercise and Group Therapy, or Conventional Waiting: a Randomized Controlled Trial

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Abstract

Objective

This trial’s objective was to investigate the effect of an exercise program with and without cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), compared by a control group, on weight, functional capacity, and cardiometabolic profile of morbidly obese individuals while waiting for bariatric surgery.

Materials and Methods

This randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of a 4-month low-intensity exercise program (two weekly sessions of 25 min each) on 66 morbidly obese individuals awaiting bariatric surgery. Participants were randomly divided into three groups: EXER, exercise program; EXER + CBT, exercise program plus support group sessions for lifestyle modification, with a CBT; and CONTROL, routine treatment. They were compared on weight, functional capacity, and cardiometabolic profile.

Results

The weight change (Kg) was −7.4 (−9.6 to 5,1); −4,2 (−6,8 to −1.6) and 2.9 (0.4 to 5.3) and the BMI change (kg/m2) was −2.7 (−3.6 to −1.8); −1.4 (−2.4 to −0.4) and 1.1 (0.1 to 2.1) for groups EXER, EXER + CBT, and CONTROL, respectively. Changes were significant when compared to the control group (p < 0.001), but there were no differences between the two intervention arms (p = 0.2). Functional capacity and cardiometabolic parameters significantly improved in the intervention arms and worsened in the control group. The adherence to the exercise program in both groups was above 78 %.

Conclusion

A 4-month, twice-weekly supervised program of low-intensity physical activity that encourages individuals to adopt a more active lifestyle can positively interfere with weight loss and improvement in functional capacity and cardiometabolic parameters of morbidly obese individuals with and without the aid of support group sessions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bariatric Surgery Department, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, Zip Code 90035-007, Brazil

    Emilian Rejane Marcon & M. R. M. Trindade

  2. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Emilian Rejane Marcon & C. R. Neumann

  3. Studio Rejane Marcon, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    S. Baglioni, L. Bittencourt & C. L. N. Lopes

  4. Primary Care Service, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    C. R. Neumann

  5. Department of Surgery, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    M. R. M. Trindade

Authors
  1. Emilian Rejane Marcon
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  2. S. Baglioni
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  3. L. Bittencourt
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  4. C. L. N. Lopes
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  5. C. R. Neumann
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  6. M. R. M. Trindade
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emilian Rejane Marcon.

Ethics declarations

The study was approved by the research ethics committee of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, protocol number 100–328

Financial Support

This study was supported by the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre Research and Events Incentive Fund (FIPE), Higher Education Coordination of Improvement (CAPES).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Trial Registration NCT02406976

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Marcon, E.R., Baglioni, S., Bittencourt, L. et al. What Is the Best Treatment before Bariatric Surgery? Exercise, Exercise and Group Therapy, or Conventional Waiting: a Randomized Controlled Trial. OBES SURG 27, 763–773 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-016-2365-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-016-2365-z

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