What Happens After Weight-Loss Surgery?

A recent study, published in Annals of Surgery, has demonstrated that physical activity and eating habits have a more significant impact on the long-term success of patients who undergo weight-loss surgery than other measures like calorie counting.

"Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity. It results in sustained weight reduction and remission of diabetes and other health problems in the majority of patients," according to Wendy King, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health, and study author, “However, as with all types of weight-loss interventions, patients usually regain at least some of the weight they initially lose."

Study Details

This study included almost 300 adults with the same type of bariatric surgery (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) that were followed for approximately 6.6 years. It examined patients’ engagement in limiting certain behaviors like sedentary behavior, fast-food, continuous eating, binge eating, and eating when full. The study also looked at patients’ level of engagement with positive behaviors like self-weighing once a week.

The Results

"This may sound like common sense," King reported. "But several behaviors and characteristics that clinicians hypothesized to matter were not related to weight regain. For example, while the frequency of fast-food consumption was associated with greater weight regain, frequency of meals and eating at restaurants were not," she explained.

The study found that younger patients gained more weight in general than older patients. Challenges with daily living tasks like dressing, bathing, walking, symptoms of depression, and conditions like venous edema with ulcerations (vein disease with sores on the skin) were some of the other characteristics that led to higher weight gain.

Another surprising find was that the evaluations of patients’ eating habits and mental health before bariatric surgery were not accurate predictors of success in keeping the weight off down the road.

All these findings illustrate the need for clinicians and programs to increase patient engagement frequently and early on after surgery to promote the behaviors that help limit weight gain.