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Ideal Body Weight Calculation in the Bariatric Surgical Population

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery Aims and scope

Abstract

Background

In bariatric surgery, ideal body weight (IBW) is used to calculate excess body weight (EBW) and percent excess weight lost (%EWL). Bariatric literature typically uses the midpoint of the medium frame from older Metropolitan Life Insurance (MetLife) tables to estimate IBW. This is neither universal nor always clinically accurate.

Objective

The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of standard IBW formulas compared to MetLife data.

Methods

Weight loss data from 200 bariatric surgical patients between 2009 and 2011 was used to assess the accuracy of IBW formulas. IBWs assigned from the midpoint of the medium frame and reassigned using different gender targets were compared to standard formulas and a new formula to assess the accuracy of all formulas to both targets.

Results

Using standard MetLife data, the mean IBW was 136 lb, the mean EBW was 153.6 lb, and the mean %EWL was 43.8 %. Using the new target baseline, the mean IBW was 137.1 lb, the mean EBW was 152.6 lb, and the mean %EWL was 44 %. Deitel and Greenstein’s formula was accurate to 0.3 % of EBW using the standard method, while our new formula was accurate to 0.03 % of EBW.

Conclusions

Deitel and Greenstein’s formula is most accurate using standard target IBW. The most accurate is our formula using the new MetLife target IBW.

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Conflict of Interest

All authors have no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest to report. This manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors and the material is previously unpublished.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Minimally Invasive, Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, 211 South 9th Street, Suite 402, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA

    Michael R. Kammerer, Michelle M. Porter, Alec C. Beekley & David S. Tichansky

Authors
  1. Michael R. Kammerer
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  2. Michelle M. Porter
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  3. Alec C. Beekley
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  4. David S. Tichansky
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Correspondence to Michael R. Kammerer.

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Kammerer, M.R., Porter, M.M., Beekley, A.C. et al. Ideal Body Weight Calculation in the Bariatric Surgical Population. J Gastrointest Surg 19, 1758–1762 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-015-2910-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-015-2910-4

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