Odds of Undergoing Surgery Lower Over Consecutive Years With Higher BMI

THURSDAY, June 11, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Individuals with higher body mass index (BMI) categories have reduced odds of undergoing surgery over consecutive years, according to a study published online June 8 in Obesity.

Michael Kachmar, D.O., from the University of South Florida in Tampa, and colleagues analyzed 11,634,075 multispecialty National Surgical Quality Improvement Program cases from 2005 to 2022 to examine whether individuals with higher BMI have received proportionally more surgical care over time. Trends were analyzed among BMI categories (<30.0, 30.0 to 39.9, 40.0 to 49.9, 50.0 to 59.9, 60.0 to 69.9, and ≥70 kg/m²), with adjustment for demographics and comorbidities.

The researchers found that patients with BMI ≥50 kg/m² had reduced odds of undergoing surgery over consecutive years, with greater declines seen in increasingly higher BMI groups. Increased proportional operative volume was demonstrated for patients with BMI of 30 to 39.9 kg/m².

“This study reveals a concerning disconnect between the growing prevalence of severe obesity and access to surgical care for a variety of common operations,” senior author Vance Albaugh, M.D., Ph.D., from the Metamor Institute and Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, said in a statement. “Individuals at the highest BMI levels carry the greatest burden of obesity-related disease, yet they appear to be receiving proportionally fewer surgical interventions each year.”

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