Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec;51(12):1322-1330.
doi: 10.1002/eat.22979. Epub 2018 Dec 6.

Eating pathology and associations with long-term changes in weight and quality of life in the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery study

Michael J Devlin  1 , Wendy C King  2 , Melissa A Kalarchian  3 , Amanda Hinerman  2 , Marsha D Marcus  4 , Susan Z Yanovski  5 , James E Mitchell  6
Affiliations

Eating pathology and associations with long-term changes in weight and quality of life in the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery study

Michael J Devlin et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the course of eating pathology and its associations with change in weight and health-related quality of life following bariatric surgery.

Method: Participants (N = 184) completed the eating disorder examination-bariatric surgery version (EDE-BSV) and the medical outcomes study 36-Item short form health survey (SF-36) prior to and annually following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) for up to 7 years.

Results: The prevalence of ≥ weekly loss of control (LOC) eating, picking/nibbling, and cravings declined post-RYGB and remained lower through 7 years (LOC: 5.4% at Year-7 vs. 16.2% pre-RYGB, p = .03; picking/nibbling: 7.0% vs. 32.4%, p < .001; and cravings: 19.4% vs. 33.6%, p = .02). The prevalence of picking/nibbling was significantly lower 7 years following LAGB vs. pre-LAGB (29.4% vs 45.8%, p = .049), while cravings (p = .13) and LOC eating (p = .95) were not. EDE-BSV global score and ratings of hunger and enjoyment of eating were lower 7 years following both RYGB and LAGB versus pre-surgery (p's for all <.05). LOC eating following RYGB was associated with less long-term weight loss from surgery (p < .01) and greater weight regain from weight nadir (p < .001). Higher post-surgery EDE-BSV global score was associated with less weight loss/greater regain (both p < .001) and worsening/less improvement from surgery in the SF-36 mental component summary scores (p < .01).

Discussion: Initial improvements in eating pathology following RYGB and LAGB were sustained across 7 years of follow-up. Individuals with eating pathology post-RYGB, reflected by LOC eating and/or higher EDE-BSV global score, may be at risk for suboptimal long-term outcomes.

Keywords: bariatric surgery; body image; craving; feeding and eating disorders; gastric bypass; hunger; weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Drs. King and Yanovski and Ms. Hinerman report no competing interests.

References

    1. Ahmed B, King WC, Gourash W, Belle SH, Hinerman A, Pomp A, … Courcoulas AP (2018). Long-term weight change and health outcomes for sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and matched roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) participants in the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery (LABS) study. Surgery, 164, 774–783. 10.1016/j.surg.2018.06.008 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Allison KC, Lundgren JD, O'Reardon JP, Martino NS, Sarwer DB, Wadden TA, … Stunkard AJ (2008). The night eating questionnaire (NEQ): Psychometric properties of a measure of severity of the night eating syndrome. Eating Behaviors, 9(1), 62–72. 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.03.007 - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.
    1. Belle SH, Berk PD, Courcoulas AP, Flum DR, Miles CW, Mitchell JE, … Yanovski SZ (2007). Longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery consortium writing group. Safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery: Longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery. Surgery for Obesity and Related Disorders, 3(2), 116–126. 10.1016/j.soard.2007.01.006 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Berg KC, Peterson CB, Frazier P, & Crow SJ (2002). Psychometric evaluation of the eating disorder examination and eating disorder examination-questionnaire: A systematic review of the literature. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 45(3), 428–438. 10.1002/eat.20931 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types