Probiotics showed no clear added weight loss after bariatric surgery
A review of placebo-controlled trials found no statistically significant improvement in the weight measures assessed after surgery.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The pooled trials did not show that adding probiotics improved weight loss after surgery. Results were nonsignificant for excess weight loss, postoperative body mass index and its reduction. This leaves routine supplementation for additional weight loss unsupported, but does not prove that every probiotic formulation has no effect.
This abstract-based account cannot assess individual regimens or follow-up lengths, which are not detailed. The authors call for larger trials using standardized strains, doses and outcome measures.
What researchers found
Mean difference in percent excess weight loss
Probiotics versus placebo after surgery; assessment timeframe not reported. The endpoint measures the share of excess weight lost, rather than total body-weight loss. The interval includes no difference.
What the review tested
Researchers asked whether probiotics could add to weight loss following surgery. They combined trials with placebo comparisons, focusing on reported primary outcomes: excess weight loss and body mass index measures.
Subgroups did not resolve uncertainty
Analyses grouped by operation, probiotic formulation and treatment duration also found no clinically meaningful effects. These results do not establish that all formulations or schedules are equivalent, or identify a superior option.
The original publication
The effect of probiotics on weight management in patients with severe obesity undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Wang S, Wu W, Chen Z et al.
Ann Med · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40851363
- Record checked
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