Supervised Exercise Immediately After Bariatric Surgery: the Study Protocol of the EFIBAR Randomized Controlled Trial

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Plan Nacional de I+D+i calls RETOS 2016 (reference DEP2016-74926-R) and RETOS 2018 (reference RTI2018-093302-A-I00). EM-R and MAI were funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU18/01107 and FPU17/01158, respectively). AH-M and LL-S were funded by the predoctoral fellowship program of the University of Almeria. The funding sources approved this study although they had no role in the design and will not have any role during its execution, analyses and interpretation of the data, writing manuscripts, or decision to submit for publication.
Background Previous studies have investigated weight loss caused by exercise following bariatric surgery. However, in most cases, the training programis poorly reported; the exercise type, volume, and intensity are briefly mentioned; and the sample size, selection criteria, and follow-up time vary greatly across studies. Purpose The EFIBAR study aims to investigate over 1 year the effects of a 16-week supervised exercise program, initiated immediately after bariatric surgery, on weight loss (primary outcome), body composition, cardiometabolic risk, physical fitness, and quality of life in patients with severe/extreme obesity. Material and Methods The EFIBAR study is a parallel-group, superiority, randomized controlled trial (RCT), comprising 80 surgery patients. Half of the participants, randomly selected, perform a 16-week supervised exercise program, including both strength and aerobic training, starting immediately after the surgery (7–14 days). For each participant, all primary and secondary outcomes are measured at three different time points: (i) before the surgery, (ii) after the intervention (≈4 months), and (iii) 1 year after the surgery.
Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), Plan Nacional de I+D+i calls RETOS DEP2016-74926-R RTI2018-093302-A-I00
Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities FPU18/01107 FPU17/01158
predoctoral fellowship program of the University of Almeria