Archived material from the LABS study participant website (via web.archive.org, snapshot of 2012-08-25). Historical document — links and contacts may be outdated.

How Do You Compare?

Editor's note. This archived page helped LABS participants compare themselves with the study cohort: it summarized early LABS findings on bariatric surgery safety, BMI and surgical risk, physical activity, and reproductive health, and showed charts of the average age, BMI, and race/ethnicity of enrolled participants. The chart images were not preserved in the Internet Archive; the text is preserved as published.

The LABS study reports that:

Bariatric surgery in current times is very safe.
There is a connection between body mass index (BMI) and other surgical risk factors.
When it comes to physical activity, there is a lot of variation among LABS participants.
Prior to surgery, reproductive health problems such as infertility are more common among LABS female participants compared to the general U.S. population.
More physical activity before bariatric surgery and increased activity after surgery are associated with favorable changes in body composition (amount of fat vs. lean tissues) during the first year after surgery.

Yet, you may still be wondering: What about me? How do I compare to other study participants?
Am I doing as well, better, worse?

These charts give a glimpse of the average age, body mass index, and race/ethnicity for LABS participants as they enrolled in the study:

We will continue to add additional images as new data is published.

Bookmark this page to keep tabs on the ever-changing LABS participant.