Research
Energy balance
Higher sustained pharmacy costs were the main driver of the cost difference favoring MBS over GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Healthcare providers should consider ongoing medication costs when recommending obesity treatments.
StrongSupportsmedium confidence
The main driver of this difference was higher sustained pharmacy costs in the GLP-1 RA group throughout year 2 of follow-up.
Why this rating
Based on the large cohort study design.
Source
Obesity Treatment With Bariatric Surgery vs GLP-1 Receptor Agonists
Tyson S. Barrett et al. · JAMA Surgery · 2025
DOI 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.3590
cohort · n=30458Cited 37×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) was associated with greater total weight loss (mean 28.3%) compared to GLP-1 receptor agonists (mean 10.3%) in patients with class II and III obesity.Strong
- The mean total costs over 2 years were lower for MBS ($51,794) compared to GLP-1 receptor agonists ($63,483).Strong
Related findings · Energy balance
- Achieving a total body weight loss of 10-15% (or >10-15 kg) through Total Diet Replacement (TDR) induces remission of Type 2 Diabetes in individuals with short-duration disease.Strong
- Bariatric surgery is superior to medical management alone for inducing significant long-term weight loss, remission of type 2 diabetes, and reduction in mortality for patients with BMI ≥ 40 or ≥ 35 with comorbidities.Strong
- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
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