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Aly et al . Mini-invasive Surg 2020;4:21 Mini-invasive Surgery
DOI: 10.20517/2574-1225.2019.57

Review Open Access

Gender disparities in weight loss surgery

Sherif Aly, Krista Hachey, Luise I. M. Pernar

Department of Surgery, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Luise I. M. Pernar, Department of Surgery, One Boston Medical Center Drive, Collamore 501, Boston,
MA 02118, USA. E-mail: luise.pernar@bmc.org

How to cite this article: Aly S, Hachey K, Pernar LIM. Gender disparities in weight loss surgery. Mini-invasive Surg 2020;4:21.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1225.2019.57
Received: 8 Dec 2019 First Decision: 25 Feb 2020 Revised: 4 Mar 2020 Accepted: 18 Mar 2020 Published: 10 Apr 2020

Science Editor: Wah Yang Copy Editor: Jing-Wen Zhang Production Editor: Tian Zhang

Abstract
Obesity is a growing epidemic affecting more than one third of the United States’ population. It has detrimental effects
on an individual’s health and is associated with myriad negative outcomes including increased mortality. It also poses a
substantial financial burden on the healthcare system. Weight loss surgery is an effective way of treating obesity with
tremendous positive outcomes. Most patients who undergo bariatric surgery lose a significant amount of weight, reverse
most of their comorbidities, and enjoy an improved quality of life. However, fewer than one percent of patients eligible
for bariatric surgery actually undergo treatment. Furthermore, there exists a considerable gender disparity, with women
comprising 80% of those patients who undergo bariatric surgery, despite equal obesity rates across genders. Many
barriers exist between obese patients and weight loss surgery including misconceptions among patients and primary
care providers regarding the perceived risk of surgery. This is in addition to numerous other psychosocial and cultural
factors that may have contributed to and precipitated the existing gender imbalance. This review aims to highlight
barriers to patients undergoing bariatric surgery and examine factors leading to the gender disparity that exists.

Keywords: Bariatric surgery, weight loss, gender disparity, obesity

INTRODUCTION
[1,2]
Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States, affecting over one third of the population . Numerous
adverse health outcomes are associated with obesity, including type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and
[3]
cardiovascular disease, resulting in disability and substantial health care costs . It is estimated that in 2013
[4]
obesity cost the healthcare system $116 billion, of which $69 billion were attributed to severe obesity . In
[5]
addition, obesity has been linked with a shortened life expectancy , with approximately 122,000 deaths in
[6]
the U.S. per year associated with obesity . Weight loss surgery is often a last resort for patients, but may be
© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
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