Social and Economic Factors Explain Why Black Patients Lose Less Weight After Bariatric Surgery than Other Groups

NEW YORK, June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Weight loss surgery has long been an effective treatment for the more than 40 percent of the American adults struggling with obesity. While previous studies show that Black patients lose less weight overall following bariatric surgery compared to other racial groups, less attention has been paid to the relationships between economic and social factors that may help explain differences in weight loss.

New research led by NYU Langone Grossman School of Medicine found that Black patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy, the most common weight loss surgery, between 2017 and 2020 lost 6.2 percent less weight than their White counterparts, and 4.9 percent less than Hispanic patients, after one year. However, further analyses found that a lot more complexity and interplay between non-biological factors than previously known appear to impact weight loss surgery incomes.

Published online in the journal Obesity, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between a variety of economic and social factors that include income, sleep disturbances and stress, and weight loss differences among racial groups, the study authors said.

"Our findings identified variations in bariatric surgery outcomes so that we can address them and, when appropriate, offer patients individualized support that can help promote the best possible outcomes," said Melanie Jay, MD, professor in the Departments of Medicine and Population Health at NYU Langone Health, and senior author of the study.

How the Study was Conducted

Study participants who self-identified as either Non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, or Non-Hispanic White were recruited from NYU Langone Health Tisch Hospital and NYC Health + Hospital Bellevue Hospital from June 2017 to March 2020. The researchers measured patients' total weight loss, waist circumference, body composition, hormones, and blood glucose levels—following up with them at multiple intervals through in-clinic visits and questionnaires over two years.

Analyzing data from 297 patients, the investigators found that after surgery, non-Hispanic Black patients lost less total weight at nearly every follow-up interval compared to their Hispanic and White counterparts. Black patients also consistently reported higher sleep disturbance, perceived stress, and experiences of discrimination.

In contrast, no significant differences in total weight loss were observed between Hispanic and White patients. White patients also were found to have better long-term blood glucose control than both Black and Hispanic patients after follow-up.

"These varied associations highlight how different lived experiences and self-perceptions across racial and ethnic groups can influence surgical outcomes," said Sally M. Vanegas, PhD, research assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and lead study author. "Additional research is needed to better understand how a broader range of socioeconomic factors may shape these outcomes."

José O. Alemán, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone and co-senior author of the study said he and his colleagues will continue analyzing data from the study participants to explore additional biological factors that may influence weight loss surgery outcomes, including changes in gene expression and the microbiome.

"As a clinical community, we have to be honest that these differences exist, as well as reinforce the importance of adopting a holistic approach to care."

In addition to Jay, Alemán and Vanegas, additional collaborators from NYU Langone Health include Silvia Curado, PhD, Boyan Zhou, PhD, Ericka N. Merriwether, PhD, Nicholas Illenberger, PhD, Evelyn Armijos, Ann Marie Schmidt, MD, Christine Ren-Fielding, Manish Parikh, MD, and Brian Elbel, PhD.

The study was provided with institutional support from NYU Langone Health and obtained donor support through the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Foundation, an AHA Ignition Center Grant (17SFRN33590133), and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), which is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, through Grant Award Number UL1TR001445. SMV was in part supported by 2T32HL098129 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. JOA was in part supported by K08DK117064 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Doris Duke Foundation. MJ was in part supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (K24 HL165161-01A1).

About NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 115 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.

Media Inquiries:

Sasha Walek
646-501-3873
[email protected]

SOURCE NYU Langone Health System