COMPASS is a free tool from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). You answer questions about your health and what matters to you. It shows which treatments fit your situation, from lifestyle programs and anti-obesity medications to endoscopic procedures and metabolic and bariatric surgery, so you can talk it through with your care team.
Open ASMBS COMPASS →Free · No sign-up · Nothing you enter is saved · Opens in a new tab
Treatments are matched to your answers, with the reasons spelled out, including safety flags.
Results from published studies, shown in pounds for your own weight.
Risks are shown as “X in 100 people,” so they are easy to compare.
Pick two options and compare them directly, then print or copy a summary to bring to your appointment.
Four short steps: about you (height, weight, age), health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, reflux and fatty liver, health history such as prior weight-loss surgery or pregnancy plans, and what matters to you, such as how you feel about injections, procedures or long-term medicine. COMPASS covers ages 13 and up.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent. An optional survey at the end sends only its own answers, and the site keeps anonymous daily counts of how often results are shown.
COMPASS was developed by the ASMBS Emerging Technology and Procedures Committee (project lead: Jerry Dang, MD, PhD) and approved by the ASMBS Board of Directors. The project team declares no conflicts of interest related to the treatments compared, and the evidence is searched again at least every 12 months.
I retired my own patient calculator for COMPASS. It puts medications, procedures and surgery on the same page, in plain numbers, and it is kept current by the ASMBS. It is a good place to start before you talk with your care team.John D. Scott, MD, FACS, FASMBS
Yes. COMPASS is free to use in any web browser, with no account or sign-up.
No. COMPASS runs in your browser and nothing you enter is saved or sent. An optional survey at the end sends only its own answers, and the site keeps anonymous daily counts of how often results are shown.
Patients and families, ages 13 and up, who want to understand their obesity treatment options. It also has a section for clinicians explaining its methods, evidence and rules.
Lifestyle programs, anti-obesity medications, endoscopic procedures and metabolic and bariatric surgery, using cited evidence.
No. COMPASS is for information and shared decision-making. Talk with your care team before starting, stopping or changing a treatment.