Societies call for lower BMI thresholds
Providers, hospitals, and insurers currently use BMI thresholds greater than or equal to 40, or greater than or equal to 35 with an obesity-related comorbidity, to define patients eligible for metabolic and bariatric surgery, based on criteria established in a 1991 consensus statement by NIH.
As more data accumulated, in 2016, a position statement from 45 societies recommended that bariatric surgery should be “considered for patients with [type 2 diabetes] and BMI 30.0-34.9 kg/m2 if hyperglycemia is inadequately controlled” despite optimal medical treatment.
Similarly, in 2018, the ASMBS issued a position statement saying that “for patients with BMI 30-35 kg/m2 and obesity-related comorbidities who do not achieve substantial, durable weight loss and comorbidity improvement with reasonable nonsurgical methods, bariatric surgery should be offered” to suitable individuals.
Then in October 2022, the ASMBS and International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders issued a joint statement that recommended lowering the thresholds for bariatric surgery to a BMI greater than or equal to 35 or greater than or equal to 30 with weight-related comorbidities.
A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.