Zhai YX, Mao T, Li XY, Ren LL, Tian ZB. Advances and future directions in endoscopic bariatric therapies. World J Gastrointest Endosc 2025; 17(11): 109157 [PMID: 41256307 DOI: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i11.109157]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Lin-Lin Ren, Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, No. 16 Jiangsu Road, Qingdao 266000, Shandong Province, China. renlinlin@qdu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Methodology
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Nov 16, 2025; 17(11): 109157 Published online Nov 16, 2025. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i11.109157
Advances and future directions in endoscopic bariatric therapies
Yu-Xuan Zhai, Tao Mao, Xiao-Yu Li, Lin-Lin Ren, Zi-Bin Tian
Yu-Xuan Zhai, Tao Mao, Xiao-Yu Li, Lin-Lin Ren, Zi-Bin Tian, Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Zhai YX performed literature search, edited and wrote original draft; Mao T and Li XY reviewed the paper for important intellectual content; Ren LL and Tian ZB edited and finalized the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81602056 and No. 82273393; and the Young Talents Promotion Project of Shandong Medical Association in 2023, No. 2023-GJ-0087.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lin-Lin Ren, Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, No. 16 Jiangsu Road, Qingdao 266000, Shandong Province, China. renlinlin@qdu.edu.cn
Received: May 7, 2025 Revised: June 9, 2025 Accepted: September 19, 2025 Published online: November 16, 2025 Processing time: 197 Days and 21.8 Hours
Abstract
Obesity is a chronic, multifactorial disease closely linked to a spectrum of cardiometabolic disorders, with its global prevalence rising at an alarming rate. In recent years, minimally invasive, safe, and effective endoscopic bariatric therapies have gained significant attention as alternatives to conventional surgical interventions. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various endoscopic weight-loss procedures, evaluating their advantages and limitations in comparison to surgical approaches to assist clinicians in optimizing patient-specific treatment strategies. Endoscopic bariatric therapies, including intragastric balloons, duodenal-jejunal bypass sleeves, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, gastric remodeling procedures, and interventions aimed at delaying gastric emptying are systematically reviewed. The efficacy, safety profiles, and clinical applicability are all synthesized. Endoscopic bariatric therapies exhibit distinct advantages and limitations, with varying indications and contraindications. As part of a multidisciplinary approach to obesity management, these procedures should be integrated with lifestyle modifications and nutritional counseling to maximize therapeutic benefits. Future research should focus on the long-term efficacy, safety, and patient-reported outcomes to refine clinical practice and optimize the role of endoscopic interventions in obesity treatment.
Core Tip: The obesity rate has been increasing annually, becoming a major health issue impacting societal development. Given the limitations of surgical bariatric procedures, pharmacotherapy, and behavioral interventions, the development of endoscopic bariatric therapies is inevitable. However, the critical challenge lies in how clinicians select and implement these approaches. Therefore, we have summarized the target populations, efficacy, limitations, and other key aspects of various endoscopic bariatric therapies to facilitate clinical application.
