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Desire for Core Tastes Decreases After Sleeve Gastrectomy: a Single-Center Longitudinal Observational Study with 6-Month Follow-up

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Abstract

Introduction

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) modifies gastrointestinal substances that control hunger and satiation via the brain-gut axis. A potential mechanism implicated in weight loss is the shift in food preferences. Our aim was to assess changes in taste preferences and their relationship to weight loss.

Methods

This is a prospective longitudinal observational study in 100 consecutive LSG patients. Questionnaire with photographs of tastes was administered before surgery, at postoperative (PO) day 6 and PO month 6. Participants asked to rate each item in terms of desire to consume on a 5-point Likert scale.

Results

Preoperative demographics are as follows: 77 women/23 men, mean age 40.8 ± 12 years, and mean BMI 42.46 ± 6.7 kg/m2. Mean 6-month PO % total body weight loss (%TBWL): 24 ± 6.2%. Preferences for bitter, salty, umami, fatty, sour, spicy, and sweet decreased significantly from baseline to PO day 6 (p < 0.001) and to PO month 6 (p < 0.002). Preferences of water (4.22) did not change significantly; red wine (1.8) and cigarettes (1.86) decreased significantly at PO day-6, but returned to baseline range at PO month 6. The highest changes of preferences in 6 months were observed for fatty (delta = 1.58) and sweet (delta = 0.95), (p < 0.002). Preference for salty at 6 months negatively correlated with %TBWL (p = 0.01).

Conclusion

LSG seems to be associated with a rapid and sustained decrease in preferences for all core tastes, detectable already at PO day 6. Preferences for sweet and fatty food undergo the highest decline, whereas preferences of water, red wine, and cigarette remain unchanged. The decrease in salty preference seems to correlate with 6-month %TBWL. Further studies are needed on the long-term impact of taste changes after LSG.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General and Digestive Surgery, University Hospital Bichat – Claude-Bernard, 46 Rue Henri Huchard, 75018, Paris, France

    Daniel Gero, Lara Ribeiro-Parenti, Konstantinos Arapis, Denis Chosidow & Jean-Pierre Marmuse

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University Hospital Bichat – Claude-Bernard, Paris, France

    Fadia Dib

Authors
  1. Daniel Gero
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  2. Fadia Dib
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  3. Lara Ribeiro-Parenti
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  4. Konstantinos Arapis
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  5. Denis Chosidow
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  6. Jean-Pierre Marmuse
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Gero.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

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

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments. The data collection, data storage and de-identified publication of results were approved by the French National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (declaration number: 2007652v0).

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There are no funding sources involved.

Additional information

Presented as Oral communication:

International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders European Chapter Meeting (IFSO-EC) in Gothenburg, Sweden, 1–4 June 2016

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Gero, D., Dib, F., Ribeiro-Parenti, L. et al. Desire for Core Tastes Decreases After Sleeve Gastrectomy: a Single-Center Longitudinal Observational Study with 6-Month Follow-up. OBES SURG 27, 2919–2926 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-017-2718-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-017-2718-2

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