
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Rates of adolescent weight-loss surgery have hit a ceiling since 2003, according to Chicago researchers.
Running at about 1,000 procedures per year, bariatric surgery among patients aged 10 to 19 years old are no longer on the rise according to a study published by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.
Preferred modes of teen weight-loss surgery have also changed, shifting from open surgery to minimally invasive laparoscopic procedures, researchers noted.
Bariatric surgery remains an important method of treatment for obesity among teenagers, according to the researchers, who noted that 1 out of every 3 U.S. teens is overweight or obese.
"Effective weight loss strategies are needed to curtail these changes, and bariatric surgery may be an effective strategy for achieving significant weight reduction in adolescents who are already morbidly obese," according to the study.
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