Research
Energy balance
Intragastric balloons (IGBs) provide modest short-term weight loss (approx. 13% TBWL at 6 months) but are associated with higher adverse event rates and significant weight regain long-term, limiting their standalone efficacy.
IGBs can help you lose about 13% of your body weight in the first 6 months, but they are not a permanent solution. You will likely experience nausea and pain, and many people regain the weight after the balloon is removed. They are best used as a short-term tool to kickstart weight loss or as a bridge to surgery, combined with strict lifestyle changes.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Meta-analyses have confirmed consistent short-term results with a total body weight loss (TBWL) percentage of 13.2% (95% CI 12.3–14.0) at six months among 5549 patients [14]... Nevertheless, long-term efficacy remains to be uncertain, with Kotzampassi et al. [82] showing only 25% of individuals maintained >20% EWL at five years and Chan et al. [83] reporting no significance difference in weight compared with controls at ten years.
Why this rating
Supported by meta-analyses and RCTs, but long-term data is sparse and shows significant weight regain.
Source
Metabolic and Bariatric Endoscopy: A Mini-Review
Benjamin Norton et al. · Life · 2023
DOI 10.3390/life13091905
narrative_reviewCited 6×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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