A new study spanning two decades has uncovered a significant racial disparity in the progression to bariatric surgery among patients with obesity. While discussions about weight-loss surgery with healthcare providers showed no racial differences, Black patients were 44% less likely to undergo the procedure compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
The research, conducted by Dr. Alexander Turchin and colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, analyzed data from over 122,000 patients with class II obesity or higher between 2000 and 2020. The findings, published in Annals of Surgery Open, reveal that 9.1% of patients discussed metabolic and bariatric surgery with their healthcare provider, but only 12.2% of these individuals proceeded to surgery.
Notably, Black patients were significantly less likely to undergo metabolic surgery (8.4%) compared to non-Black patients (12.6%), despite having higher rates of diabetes and slightly higher average BMI. Dr. Turchin emphasized the need to improve these conversations and identify barriers to undergoing surgery once it has been discussed.
The study also highlighted gender disparities, with men being less likely than women to both discuss and receive surgery. However, there is a silver lining: discussions about bariatric surgery have become more common over the past two decades, increasing from 3.2% to 10%.
These findings underscore the importance of addressing racial and gender disparities in obesity treatment. As Dr. Turchin noted, “Providers need to ensure that patients have all the available information to make decisions about obesity treatments.” The research team suggests that future studies should assess patient barriers to receiving metabolic surgery once it has been recommended by a healthcare provider.
See: “Race and sex disparities in metabolic/bariatric surgery over 20 years” (January 16, 2025)
