Few patients who undergo laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery achieve meaningful weight loss after reaching steady state weight, according to an analysis of 178 individuals who had the procedure.

Investigators defined steady state as the month when the patient lost 3% or less weight from the prior visit, or gained weight. Total and excess weight loss were compared based on time to steady state.

Among the results:

• Average time to steady state was 15.5 months.

• 13 patients lost >5% of excess weight loss after reaching their steady state weight.

• 47 patients who reached steady state in <12 months had significantly lower total and excess weight loss percentage at steady state, compared to 131 individuals who reached steady state in ≥12 months.

• Initial weight loss velocity and BMI were not significantly linked with time to steady state.

Citation: Kindel Tammy, Lemelin D, McBride C, Kothari V, Thompson J. The time to weight-loss steady state after gastric bypass predicts weight-loss success. Obes Surg. 2016;26(2):327-331. doi: 10.1007/s11695-015-1754-z.