Effects of Exercise on Cardiometabolic Risk in Post‐Bariatric Patients: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses

Obesity is a chronic non‐communicable disease; that significantly impacts cardiovascular health via related conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease. Bariatric surgery provides effective weight loss, however exercise's cardiometabolic benefits post‐surgery remain underexplored. To gain deeper insight, we conducted an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) to assess the impact of exercise on cardiovascular risk in post‐bariatric surgery patients. The searches were accomplished by EMBASE, MEDLINE/PubMed (via National Library of Medicine), Scopus, and Web of Science databases. We included SRs of exercise and cardiovascular risk in post‐bariatric surgery patients published up until March 9th 2026. PRISMA was enforced for reporting quality, AMSTAR 2 was required for methodological quality and GRADE was executed for quality of evidence analysis. Following the exclusion of 133 publications, four SRs were included, revealing significant exercise‐induced improvements in VO 2 max‐VO 2 peak/kg (absolute effect: 0.197 [0.287; 1.06]), HDL‐cholesterol (absolute effect: 0.107 [0.009; 0.43]), and triglycerides (absolute effect: −17.56 [−34.14; −0.96]). None of the SRs fully obeyed the PRISMA guidelines, while AMSTAR 2 and GRADE assessments indicated low to very low quality. The SRs designated that exercise provides cardiovascular risk benefits for post‐bariatric surgery patients. Yet, we recommend enhancing the evidence base, in addition to the methodological and reporting standards, in forthcoming SRs.