ArticlePloS one2020
Pre-operative aerobic exercise on metabolic health and surgical outcomes in patients receiving bariatric surgery: A pilot trial.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Preoperative Physical Activity Level and Exercise Prescription in Adults With Obesity: The Effect on Post-Bariatric Surgery Outcomes.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of exercise training before and after bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of presurgical aerobic exercise on cardiometabolic health 30 days after bariatric surgery.Physiological reports · 2021Trial
- ENCOURAGEing Start: A Quasi-Experimental Trial on Pre-Op Physical Activity Intervention for Bariatric Surgery Candidates.Obesity science & practice · 2026Article
- Improving Patient Outcomes by Bridging Bariatric and Body Contouring Surgery with Comprehensive Prehabilitation.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Autonomic Dysfunction and Functional Impairment in Candidates for Metabolic Bariatric Surgery: A High Vulnerability Profile.Obesity surgery · 2026Article
- Leisure-Time Physical Activity Patterns and Predictors in Patients Before and After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: A Cross-sectional Study.Obesity surgery · 2025Article
- Effects of Preoperative Exercise Interventions in Patients Undergoing Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The Degree of Preoperative Hypoalbuminemia Is Associated with Risk of Postoperative Complications in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Patients.Obesity surgery · 2024Article
- Acceptability and Feasibility of the Telehealth Bariatric Behavioral Intervention to Increase Physical Activity: Protocol for a Single-Case Experimental Study.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Impact of Pre-operative Aerobic Exercise on Cardiometabolic Health and Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveExamine if adding aerobic exercise to standard medical care (EX+SC) prior to bariatric surgery improves metabolic health in relation to surgical outcomes.
methodsFourteen bariatric patients (age: 42.3±2.5y, BMI: 45.1±2.5 kg/m2) met inclusion criteria and were match-paired to pre-operative SC (n = 7) or EX+SC (n = 7; walking 30min/d, 5d/wk, 65-85% HRpeak) for 30d. A 120min mixed meal tolerance test was performed pre- and post-intervention (~2d prior to surgery) to assess insulin sensitivity (Matsuda Index) and metabolic flexibility (indirect calorimetry). Aerobic fitness (VO2peak), body composition (BodPod), and adipokines (adiponectin, leptin) were also measured. Omental adipose tissue was collected during surgery to quantify gene expression of adiponectin and leptin, and operating time and length of hospital stay were recorded. ANOVA and Cohen's d effect size (ES) was used to test group differences.
resultsSC tended to increase percent body fat (P = 0.06) after the intervention compared to EX+SC. Although SC and EX+SC tended to raise insulin sensitivity (P = 0.11), EX+SC enhanced metabolic flexibility (P = 0.01, ES = 1.55), reduced total adiponectin (P = 0.01, ES = 1.54) with no change in HMW adiponectin and decreased the length of hospital stay (P = 0.05) compared to SC. Albeit not statistically significant, EX+SC increased VO2peak 2.9% compared to a 5.9% decrease with SC (P = 0.24, ES = 0.91). This increased fitness correlated to shorter operating time (r = -0.57, P = 0.03) and length of stay (r = -0.58, P = 0.03). Less omental total adiponectin (r = 0.52, P = 0.09) and leptin (r = 0.58, P = 0.05) expression correlated with shorter operating time, and low leptin expression was linked to shorter length of stay (r = 0.70, P = 0.01), and low leptin expression was linked to shorter length of stay (r = 0.70, P = 0.01).
conclusionAdding pre-operative aerobic exercise to standard care may improve surgical outcomes through a fitness and adipose tissue derived mechanism.
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