The triad of kidney, obesity, and bariatric surgery

Abstract

There is an epidemic of obesity in the USA. Obesity significantly increases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease. Multiple studies have shown overall health and mortalityrelated benefits of medical and surgical weight loss. Renal benefits of bariatric surgery include decrease in proteinuria and hyperfiltration. There have only been a few small studies in patients with abnormally low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) that have shown improvements in GFR postsurgery over a short term. Long-term and larger scale studies are needed to see if renal benefits of weight loss are sustained in post-bariatric surgery patients.