Patient Perception of Endoscopic and Medical Therapies for Weight Loss

Background For weight management, patient choice has increasingly driven therapeutic options, with less than 1% of eligible patients choosing bariatric surgery. The aim of this survey was to understand patient perceptions of endoscopic bariatric therapies (EBTs) and obesity-based pharmacotherapy. Methods An anonymously collected 7-question survey was distributed to gastroenterology patients undergoing screening colonoscopy. Results A total of 184 patients participated in the survey. Participants demonstrated a greater lack of knowledge of EBTs (78.2% unaware) compared to pharmacotherapy (35.9% unaware). 40.8% of respondents perceived that EBTs were not available in the United States. Only 15.8% of respondents recognized that pharmacotherapy requires long-term treatment to maintain weight loss. Disparities were noted in primarily Spanish-speaking patients demonstrating a lower awareness of the availability of EBTs in the US (57.6% unaware) and pharmacotherapy (62.1% unaware) compared to those with English as the primary language. Conclusions Patient knowledge and preference are key to engaging in weight loss therapies. Knowledge gaps regarding weight-loss options, particularly EBTs, can limit the utilization of all options for the care of patients with obesity. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: IRB of Loma Linda University School of Medicine waived ethical approval for this work. IRB of the University of Pennsylvania waived ethical approval for this work. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript * EBT : (endoscopic bariatric therapies) ESG : (endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty) TBWL : (total body weight loss)