Background: Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is a commonly used bariatric procedure in severely obese adolescents. Weight loss after SG is associated with marked changes in body composition, but factors associated with such changes have not yet been described in adolescents.
Objective: To identify factors associated with changes in body weight and composition in adolescents one year after SG.
Methods: Age, sex, weight, height, pre-surgical body mass index (BMI) and body fat percent measured by bioimpedance were collected in 25 adolescents (16 males, 9 females, age 16.6±1.5 years) before and one year after SG. Obesity related complications, preoperative weight loss and physical activity after surgery were also recorded. Repeated-measures analyses of variance and linear mixed model analyses were performed.
Results: One year after SG, weight decreased by 32%, fat mass by 55%, and fat-free mass by 9% from baseline. Males lost significantly more weight than females, with larger decreases in fat mass (-65% vs -41%, p<0.001) and body fat percent (-48% vs -21%, p<0.001). The amount of physical activity at one-year follow up was also associated with larger reductions in body fat percent in both genders. Age or baseline BMI, fat mass and fat-free mass were not associated with changes in BMI or body composition.
Conclusions: Among obese adolescents one year after SG, the only modifiable factor associated with larger decreases in body fat percent was physical activity.
Changes in body composition in adolescents, 1 year after SG:
