Evaluation of older Adults with obesity for bariatric surgery: Geriatricians' perspective

The prevalence of obesity in the general population is increasing worldwide, and those surviving are at an increased risk for developing comorbidity and physical limitations. With aging, obesity places this high-risk population at an increased risk for future morbidity, institutionalization, and functional decline. Traditional weight loss programs lead to inconsistent improvements in comorbidity, function, and quality of life. Bariatric surgery may offer a reasonable alternative in selected patients to achieve improvements in these outcomes. We present our approach in assessing the physiologic age of older candidates for bariatric surgery from a geriatrician's perspective that may be useful for general internists, bariatricians, and general surgeons alike. We present how a focus on function and physiological parameters of aging provides more predictive power than that on chronological age alone.