Research
Energy balance
Preoperative exercise training may improve walking test distance and body weight in adults undergoing bariatric surgery, but evidence is limited.
While evidence is limited, starting exercise before bariatric surgery may help improve walking test distance and body weight. Consult with your healthcare provider to determine if preoperative exercise training is appropriate for you.
LimitedQualifiesLOW confidence
At the postintervention follow-up (presurgery), walking test distance increased in the exercise group compared with the control group in two (100%) studies, and body weight decreased in two (67%) studies.
Why this rating
Limited number of studies (n=3) with mixed results.
Source
Effect of exercise training before and after bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Alice Bellicha et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2021
DOI 10.1111/obr.13296
Meta-analysis · 22 studiesCited 148×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Postoperative exercise training in adults undergoing bariatric surgery leads to greater weight loss, increased VO2max, and improved muscle strength compared to usual care without exercise.Good
- Postoperative exercise training does not significantly affect lean body mass in adults undergoing bariatric surgery.Good
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