Health
More US Adolescents Are Getting Weight-Loss Surgery
- Procedures among adolescents rose 20% in 2021 from year prior
- Pediatrician group has said more youth should have access
This article is for subscribers only.
Weight-loss surgeries among adolescents increased substantially in recent years, part of an overall rise in obesity treatments in the US.
The number of adolescents ages 10 to 19 who underwent metabolic or bariatric surgery rose about 20% in 2021 from the year before, according to a research letter published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Pediatrics. Rates of these surgeries, which are uncommon, also rose among minors between 2019 and 2020, even as rates for adults dipped.