Socioecological Factors Associated With Ethnic Disparities in Bariatric Surgery Utilization and Post-WLS

The goal of this cross-sectional observational study is to examine potential relationships between the blood and gut microbiota of patients with obesity before and after weight loss surgery (WLS) and evaluate potential ethnic differences in the blood and gut microbiotas before and after the WLS. The main aims / objectives of this sub-study are: * Aim 1. Compare the relationship between the blood and the gut microbiomes among a sample of (1) pre-WLS and (2) 6-month post-WLS participants. Hypothesis: Blood bacterial composition will resemble that of the gut microbiome among pre-WLS participants. Because the effect of WLS on the blood microbiome is not known, our post-WLS results will be mostly exploratory. * Aim 2. Determine racial differences in the blood microbiome of the pre- and post-WLS groups. Hypothesis2: Ethnic differences will be detected in both the pre- and post-WLS groups.