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Welcome to the LABS Website

Who We Are
The Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded consortium of six clinical centers and a data coordinating center working in cooperation with NIH scientific staff to plan, develop, and conduct coordinated clinical, epidemiological, and behavioral research in the field of bariatric surgery.
Our Mission
Approximately 64 percent of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, with more than 25 percent of adults considered obese (Body Mass Index [BMI] greater than 30). Of even more concern is the increasing number of adults with high levels of obesity (BMI greater than 40) Numerous studies have shown that obesity treatments using behavioral therapy to improve diet and physical activity levels can lead to weight losses of approximately five to ten percent over four to six months. With such weight losses come improvement in obesity-related medical conditions such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. However, these improvements are not maintained if weight is regained, and rebound in weight gain above the pre-intervention weight is the ultimate outcome in a majority of cases. Therefore, better methods to induce substantial weight loss in the population with extreme obesity, as well as to maintain weight loss over the long-term, are ultimate goals. The most effective means currently available to induce substantial weight loss, with long-term maintenance of that weight loss, is through bariatric surgery.
Current Status
On January 31, 2015, study visits ended. There were 2458 participants enrolled and 2686 surgeries were reported. Participants have been followed through 7 years and 2296 remained active throughout the study. Throughout the remainder of 2015, LABS will prepare the data collected for further analysis and so that it can be archived to address longer term efficacy topics such as long-term weight loss and improvement in obesity-related medical conditions.