Bariatric surgery and taste: novel mechanisms of weight loss

Taste of Fat: A Sixth Taste Modality?

“…Interestingly, this defect seems to be associated with a preferential consumption of a highfat diet in rodents (191). Induced weight loss by caloric restriction or bariatric surgery demonstrates that alterations in the "fat taste" responsiveness are reversible in rodents and humans (18,31,136), emphasizing that obesity exerts a deleterious effect on fat perception. In obese subjects, dietary restriction reduced the spontaneous consumption of foods high in fat (48), while patients with a gastric bypass find fatty meals less pleasant (136).…”

“…Induced weight loss by caloric restriction or bariatric surgery demonstrates that alterations in the "fat taste" responsiveness are reversible in rodents and humans (18,31,136), emphasizing that obesity exerts a deleterious effect on fat perception. In obese subjects, dietary restriction reduced the spontaneous consumption of foods high in fat (48), while patients with a gastric bypass find fatty meals less pleasant (136). The effectiveness of bariatric surgery is partly due to a selective reduction in the reward value of palatable foods both in humans and rodents (107,135,191).…”

Anti-Obesity Therapy: from Rainbow Pills to Polyagonists

“…Chronic changes in food consumption are typically reported after bariatric surgery and are considered a causal factor in sustained weight loss (Brolin et al, 1994;Sjöström et al, 2004;Laurenius et al, 2012;Münzberg et al, 2015). Molecular mechanisms that support reduction in food intake seem, however, not to rely on physical limitations of the gastrointestinal tract (Ryan et al, 2014), but instead pertain to changes in food preference, taste perception, and alterations in the food reward system (Scruggs et al, 1994;Burge et al, 1995;Miras and le Roux, 2010;Shin and Berthoud, 2011;Mathes and Spector, 2012;Laurenius et al, 2013).…”

Impact of Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery on Neurohormonal and Gastrointestinal Physiology: Insights for Future Weight Loss Efforts

“…Taste sensation is decreased in obese compared to lean controls, which may partly explain the inhibited reward during food ingestion [55][56][57]. After RYGB, the acuity for sweet and sour tastes is increased to levels that resemble lean subjects [57,58]. There is also a rapid shift in sweet taste from pleasant to unpleasant after surgery [59], likely due to altered post-surgical neural responses.…”