Food Reward after Bariatric Surgery and Weight Loss Outcomes: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Changes in food preferences after bariatric surgery may alter its effectiveness as a treatment for obesity. We aimed to compare food reward for a comprehensive variety of food categories between patients who received a sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and to explore whether food reward differs according to weight loss. In this cross-sectional exploratory study, food reward was assessed using the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire (LFPQ) in patients at 6, 12, or 24 months after SG or RYGB. We assessed the liking and wanting of 11 food categories. Comparisons were done regarding the type of surgery and total weight loss (TWL; based on tertile distribution). Fifty-six patients (30 SG and 26 RYGB) were included (women: 70%; age: 44.0 (11.1) y). Regarding the type of surgery, scores were not significantly different between SG and RYGB, except for ‘non-dairy products—without color’ explicit liking (p = 0.04). Regarding TWL outcomes, explicit liking, explicit wanting, and implicit wanting, scores were significantly higher for good responders than low responders for ‘No meat—High fat’ (post-hoc corrected p-value: 0.04, 0.03, and 0.04, respectively). Together, our results failed to identify major differences in liking and wanting between the types of surgery and tended to indicate that higher weight loss might be related to a higher reward for high protein-content food. Rather focus only on palatable foods, future studies should also consider a broader range of food items, including protein reward.

Behavioral Interventions to Attenuate Driven Overeating and Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery

“…Thus, many in the obesity scientific community believe that biology, rather than will-power or personal responsibility, is the primary driver of daily decisions about food intake. Two primary components can impact a food’s rewarding influence: (1) “Liking” or experiencing sensory pleasure or enjoyment from food, and (2) “Wanting” or craving foods and being implicitly driven to eat them ( 46 ). Also called hedonic eating, or eating beyond what is needed for homeostasis, eating for taste and/or pleasure is associated with weight gain and obesity ( 47 ).…”

“…After having bariatric surgery, foods that are highly palatable and energy dense are most impacted by these neurobiological changes, which, in turn, decrease food intake (56)(57)(58)(59). A recent study demonstrated that for both Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, there is a decrease in preference for high fat and calorie-dense foods and an increase in healthy food intake following bariatric surgery (46).…”

Gastric modulation of food reward, olfaction and taste in obesity and bariatric surgery: an artificial intelligence assisted scoping review protocol

“…Weight loss, however, is not solely driven by a reduction in food intake due to decreased gastric volume. It is also linked to shifts in food preferences caused by alterations in sensory perceptions 3,4 , and remodeling of reward circuit 5 . Moreover, our research team has shown that the dietary preferences of patients with weight failure differ from those who have achieved successful post-operative outcomes 4 .…”