Functional recovery and quality of life following bariatric surgery: A systematic review with meta-analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62827/fb.v27i7.1261Keywords:
Obesity; Bariatric Surgery; Physical Functional Performance; Exercise Tolerance; Walk Test.Abstract
Introduction: Bariatric surgery has shown satisfactory results in the treatment of severe obesity, but it can lead to muscle mass loss and reduced functional capacity, giving physical therapy a prominent role in the postoperative period. Objective: To evaluate the effects of physical therapy and exercise programs on functional recovery and quality of life after bariatric surgery. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) recommendations in PubMed/MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Cochrane Library, BVS/LILACS (Virtual Health Library / Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase (Excerpta Medica dataBASE), in addition to a manual search of the references of the selected studies. Four trials involving adults who underwent bariatric surgery and evaluated physical therapy interventions or exercise programs were included. Risk of bias was assessed for the six-minute walk test (6MWT) using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool. The re-specified primary analysis combined three studies reporting directly comparable post-intervention means and standard deviations using a random-effects model. Results: The four trials included 289 randomized participants and 230 with 6MWT data at the selected time point; three studies, with 200 participants, entered the primary analysis. The pooled mean difference was 36.77 m (95% CI: 6.01 to 67.53; t(2) = 5.14; p = 0.036), favoring the intervention. No statistical heterogeneity was detected (I² = 0.0%), but the estimate was sensitive to replacing the unadjusted final values from Jassil et al. with the published longitudinal effect. Conclusion: The evaluated interventions may improve functional capacity measured by the 6MWT; however, interpretation should remain cautious because of the small number of studies, clinical diversity, missing data, and risk of bias.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Camila Silva Valadares , Eugênio Antero Nelo de Sousa, João Vitor de Freitas Vieira Perini, Júlio César Alcântara de Deus, Anna Luísa Madureira Tavares de Melo (Autor)
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