This treatment could help fight obesity

Washington DC: Obesity is a growing epidemic around the world and one of the leading causes of death, alongside heart disease and smoking. Bariatric surgery, particularly gastric bypass Roux-en-Y (RYGB), is the most effective treatment against obesity.

According to RYGB, many patients experience a decrease in taste preference for sweet and fatty foods, although this effect is only temporary, according to a new study from Binghamton University, NYU.

Professor Patricia DiLorenzo said, "The people who undergo this surgery are what we call morbid obesity, which means that they make at least 100 pounds of weight and are often diabetic. is life or death for them. "

RYGB makes the stomach much smaller in what is called a pocket. This pocket bypasses part of the small intestine, so when you eat, your food gets into a smaller stomach and empties directly into the small intestine. This means that people can no longer eat big meals, resulting in weight loss. However, taste and olfactory preferences are also known to change after surgery, and their potential involvement in the observed weight loss is a matter of study.

DiLorenzo and his research team studied changes in food and olfactory preferences after RYGB and compared them to changes in body mass index (BMI) after surgery.

The research team also found that people who liked coffee more after the operation were also the ones who had the most weight. Coffee and vegetables have a bitter taste, indicating that the taste preferences of some patients have shifted from high fat and sweet foods to those where bitter tastes are less aversive. Patients who had this effect lost the most weight and had a lower BMI in the long run after surgery.

However, these modified food preferences generally return to pre-operative preferences over time. In addition, the rate of weight loss decreases as time increases after surgery.

Despite the risk that some patients regain weight after the operation, the majority of patients manage to lose and maintain their weight.

The study is presented in the journal PLOS ONE.

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