The 2025 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery’s annual conference just wrapped up and we have a rundown of some of the exciting research and insight presented at the five day event.

With hundreds of research topics presented at ASMBS2025, we assembled a rundown of some of the exciting topics related to obesity that readers may find particularly interesting. For a full rundown of research presented at ASMBS2025 visit the event’s official abstract book. 

Marked Disparities in Cancer Screening with Worsening Obesity Severity: Insights from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
  • Description: Individuals living with obesity may face barriers to screening that deter helpful cancer screenings. The study focused on determining if higher BMI is associated with patients being less likely to undergo cancer screenings.
  • Result: The study found that higher BMI is associated with notably lower odds of a patient undergoing a routine colorectal, cervical, breast, and prostate cancer screening. 

Early Experience of Simultaneous Sleeve Gastrectomy in Obese Living Donor Liver Transplant Recipients – Demonstrating Feasibility at a Single American Center

  • Description: With the common co-occurrence of obesity and metabolic associated steatohepatitis cirrhosis, post-transplant, obesity-related complications are a concern. The study focused on simultaneous sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in the living donor liver transplantation population.
  • Result: Early outcomes are promising due to SG’s reduced risk level from weight-loss, reduction of comorbidities, and lowered long-term graft steatosis.

Combined Therapy of Severe Obesity in Patients with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome Using Anti-obesity Medications, Bariatric Surgery, and Genetic-Based Targeted Therapy

  • Description: This study described the outcomes of a bariatric program using combined therapy for treating severe obesity in patients living with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome.
  • Result: The study found that anti-obesity medicine, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and genetic targeted therapy may optimize patients for bariatric surgery and boost postoperative weight loss, via combined therapy.

Understanding Obesity Stigma: The Use of Natural Language Processing And Text Mining

  • Description: This study used natural language processing techniques to scan social media data for insights involving stigma related to medical and surgical treatment.
  • Result: The analysis identified more than 44,000 posts on weight-related topics (4.4% of total posts scanned), and of those posts, 7,538 were focused on GLP-1RA and bariatric surgery. The majority of those weight-related posts expressed negativity; there were 3,775 occurrences of the term “fat people” identified, with thousands more reflecting an overt bias toward individuals with obesity.

Study on the Efficacy and Risk Factors of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Improving Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome

  • Description: The study’s objective was to analyze the effectiveness of metabolic and bariatric surgery in patients living with comorbid obesity hypoventilation syndrome at a 1-year follow-up appointment.
  • Result: The study found that metabolic and bariatric surgery was an effective treatment for obesity hypoventilation syndrome in eligible patients. Reaching a sufficient percentage of total weight loss is key in resolving obesity hypoventilation syndrome.

The Impact of Pre-Operative Obesity Management Medication On Weight Loss in Adolescents Undergoing Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery

  • Description: The study focused on concerns related to the impact of new obesity management medication on adolescents undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery.
  • Result: The study found that patients taking topiramate or GLP-1RA pre-operatively lost notably less weight postoperatively despite similar starting weights and BMIs; from consult to one-year postoperatively, the GLP-1RA cohort lost similar weight to the non-medicated cohort. 

Virtual Weight Loss Outcomes at 12 Months: Comparing Medical Management and Postmetabolic Surgery Salvage Therapy

  • Description: Virtual care functions well in supporting patients living with obesity, .This study analyzed one-year, weight-loss outcomes for two virtual cohorts: patients receiving primary medical management and post-metabolic surgery patients undergoing medical salvage therapy for suboptimal outcomes or weight recurrence.
  • Result: The study identified that virtual medical management and post-surgical medical salvage therapy resulted in clinically significant weight loss at 12-month, underscoring the efficacy of virtual care in managing obesity and suboptimal outcomes.

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