Anthropometrics by Three-Dimensional Photonic Scanner in Patients with Obesity Before and After Bariatric Surgery

We studied body composition by three-dimensional photonic scanning (3DPS) and metabolic biomarkers in a large ethnically diverse cohort of individuals with severe obesity before and after weight loss by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or adjustable gastric banding (AGB) surgery.

Male and female participants (n = 95) underwent 3DPS testing in the weeks preceding bariatric surgery (baseline), and 1 year after either RYGB (n = 34) or AGB (n = 9).

Principal component analysis showed that A1C and HDL cholesterol clustered with waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Both RYGB and AGB surgeries led to similar improvements in A1C and lipids after 1 year. RYGB led to greater decreases in body weight, and in most anthropometric measures, compared with AGB at 1 year. However, after accounting for weight loss differences, RYGB and AGB groups did not differ in regional decreases in circumferences or volumes; the exception was a greater reduction in lean mass in RYGB compared with AGB.

Distribution of weight loss, assessed by 3DPS, did not differ between RYGB and AGB, but surgery type predicted change in lean mass at 1 year.