The Role of Palliative Care in Morbid Obesity

Abstract

Providing care to patients with morbid obesity is uniquely challenging due to multimorbidity, functional impairment, and high mortality rates in this population. Older adults with morbid obesity, accelerated health decline, and malnutrition often approach the end of life before palliative and hospice services are initiated. Having a better understanding of the role of palliative and hospice care in the care of patients with morbid obesity is important for health care professionals. We describe an older adult with morbid obesity who experienced a steady health decline during his last year of life, requiring recurrent hospitalizations, subacute rehabilitation, and subsequent transition to long-term care and hospice. This case serves to demonstrate gaps in care for this population and provides recommendations for intervention.