Criteria for Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents

The Pediatric Bariatric Study Group (PBSG) recommends stricter criteria for weight-loss surgery in adolescents than the standard National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus criteria for bariatric surgery in adults. To examine whether stricter criteria are necessary, investigators examined morbidity and functional impairment in 134 adolescents (age range, 13–17 years) who met NIH criteria (body-mass index [BMI] ≥40 kg/m² or BMI >35 and at least 1 of 11 comorbid conditions). Patients were drawn from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2001–2004).

Only 4 of the 134 adolescents who met NIH criteria for surgery also met the stricter PBSG criteria (BMI ≥40 and diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, or pseudotumor comorbidities or BMI ≥50 with othe…