Exercise interventions following bariatric surgery are poorly reported: A systematic review and a call for action

Abstract

Objectives: This study assessed the transparency and replicability of exercise-based interventions following bariatric surgery by evaluating the content reporting of exercise-based clinical trials. Design: The study design of the present article is a systematic review. Data sources: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, PsycINFO, and Cochrane were searched from their inception to May 2023. Eligibility criteria: Eligible studies were clinical trials including exercise interventions in participants following bariatric surgery. There were 28 unique exercise interventions. Two independent reviewers applied the exercise prescription components of Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type (FITT; four items) and the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT; 19 items). Exercise interventions were organized into four major exercise components: aerobic training, resistance training, concurrent training, and “others.”. Results: The FITT assessment revealed that 53% of the trials did not report the training intensity, whereas 25% did not indicate the duration of the major exercise component within the training session. The mean CERT score was 5 out of a possible score of 19. No studies reached CERT score >10, while 13 out of the total 19 CERT items were not adequately reported by ≥75% of the studies. Conclusion: This study highlights that the exercise interventions following bariatric surgery are poorly reported, non-transparent, and generally not replicable. This precludes understanding the dose–response association of exercise and health-related effects and requires action to improve this scientific field.