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Factors Associated with Favorable Changes in Food Preferences After Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Purpose

Bariatric surgery may shift food preferences towards less energy-dense foods. Eating behavior is multifactorial, and the mechanisms driving changes in food preferences could be a combination of a physiological response to surgery and social and psychological factors. This exploratory study aimed to identify potential factors explaining the variation in changes in food preferences after bariatric surgery.

Materials and methods

Physiological, social, and psychological data were collected before, 6 weeks or 6 months after surgery. All variables were analyzed in combination using LASSO regression to explain the variation in changes in energy density at an ad libitum buffet meal 6 months after bariatric surgery (n=39).

Results

The following factors explained 69% of the variation in changes in food preferences after surgery and were associated with more favorable changes in food preferences (i.e., a larger decrease in energy density): female gender, increased secretion of glicentin, a larger decrease in the hedonic rating of sweet and fat and a fatty cocoa drink, a lower number of recent life crises, a low degree of social eating pressure, fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder, less effort needed to obtain preoperative weight loss, a smaller household composition, a lower degree of self-efficacy and a higher degree of depression, nutritional regime competence, and psychosocial risk level.

Conclusion

Factors explaining the variation in altered food preferences after bariatric surgery not only include a physiological response to surgery but also social and psychological factors.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the staff at Bariatric Clinic, Køge Hospital, Denmark; the kitchen and laboratory staff and master’s students at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; and Eva Pacini at the Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, for helping with recruitment and data collection. Furthermore, we wish to thank Lene Stevner at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, for the support with the protocol. A special thanks to all the participants in the GO Bypass study.

Funding

This study was carried out as part of the research program “Governing Obesity” funded by the University of Copenhagen Excellence Programme for Interdisciplinary Research (www.go.ku.dk). Additional funding was obtained from the Danish Diabetes Academy supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation, and the Aase and Ejnar Danielsen’s Foundation.

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Correspondence to Mette S. Nielsen.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in the study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

CWlR is supported by grants from Science Foundation Ireland (ref 12/YI/B2480), Health Research Board (USIRL-2016-2) and the Irish Research Council during the conduct of the study. Furthermore, CWlR reported being on the advisory boards for Novo Nordisk and GI Dynamics, receiving a research grant from AnaBio, receiving honoraria for lectures and advisory work from Eli Lily, Johnson and Johnson, Sanofi Aventis, Astra Zeneca, Janssen, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Boehringer-Ingelheim, and reported shares in Keyron. AH was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, grant 01EO1501. JJH reported being on the advisory board for Novo Nordisk and MSD. The other authors declared competing interests.

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Nielsen, M.S., Christensen, B.J., Ritz, C. et al. Factors Associated with Favorable Changes in Food Preferences After Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 31, 3514–3524 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-021-05374-1

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