Published online Dec 8, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i28.2819
Peer-review started: July 5, 2015
First decision: July 28, 2015
Revised: October 13, 2015
Accepted: November 17, 2015
Article in press: November 25, 2015
Published online: December 8, 2015
Processing time: 158 Days and 16.4 Hours
The problem of obesity is increasing worldwide in epidemic proportions; the situation is similarly becoming more common in patients with cirrhosis which negatively affect the prognosis of disease and also makes liver transplantation difficult especially in the living donor liver transplantation setting where low graft to recipient weight ratio negatively affects survival. Treatment of obesity is difficult in cirrhosis due to difficulty in implementation of lifestyle measures, limited data on safety of anti-obesity drugs and high risk of surgery. Currently approved anti-obesity drugs have limited data in patients with cirrhosis. Bariatric surgery remains an option in selected compensated cirrhotic patients. Endoscopic interventions for obesity are emerging and are quite promising in patients with cirrhosis as these are minimally invasive. In present review, we briefly discuss various modalities of weight reduction in obese patients and their applicability in patients with cirrhosis.
Core tip: The rising obesity problem is also associated with increased incidence of simultaneous obesity and cirrhosis. This is a particularly difficult subset of obese patients to treat as there is difficulty in implementation of lifestyle measures, limited data on safety of anti-obesity drugs and high risk of surgery. In present review, we briefly discuss various modalities of weight reduction in obese patients and their applicability in patients with cirrhosis.