3 Important Weight Control Practices After WLS

 

 

 

I know we constantly say your WLS journey is personal to you and don’t compare yourself to others, but sometimes the practices of those that do well can be followed by others as a way of increasing reliability and success. This latest research highlights 3 areas relating to weekly self-weighing; not eating beyond the full stage; and not grazing or eating continuously throughout the day that can dictate better success rates and more weight loss after WLS.

It provides a clear indicator and case for surgical providers to provide a structured programme to modify eating behaviours and patterns after WLS. Read on and prepare to give yourself the best outcome and perhaps encourage or rally your provider to look at and provide additional help since it clearly matters and counts with success rates ….

The importance of assessing weight control practices, eating behaviors, after bariatric surgery

 

Assessing certain weight control practices and eating behaviours after bariatric surgery can significantly influence the amount of weight loss after surgery, according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery.

It is important to identify variables that are associated with, or predictive of, successful weight loss outcomes to better evaluate potential risks and benefits to the use of bariatric surgery for treating those with severe obesity. Much research in this area has focused on preoperative factors. Postoperative predictors of weight loss have not been adequately examined. James E. Mitchell, M.D., of the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Fargo, N.D., and colleagues examined postoperative eating behaviors and weight control and their effects on change in weight among adults undergoing first-time bariatric surgical procedures. Participants completed detailed surveys regarding eating and weight control behaviors prior to surgery and then annually after surgery for 3 years. Twenty-five postoperative behaviours related to eating behaviour, eating problems, weight control practices, and the problematic use of alcohol, smoking, and illegal drugs were examined.

The sample included a total of 2,022 participants (median body mass index [BMI], 46): 1,513 who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and 509 who had undergone adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). The researchers found that the 3 behaviours that explained most of the variability (16 percent) in 3-year percent weight change following RYGB were weekly self-weighing, continuing to eat when feeling full more than once a week, and eating continuously during the day. A participant who postoperatively started to self-weigh, stopped eating when feeling full, and stopped eating continuously during the day after surgery would be predicted to lose an average of 39 percent of their baseline weight, which is about 14 percent greater weight loss compared with participants who made no positive changes in these variables.

“The results of this study suggest that certain behaviours, many of which are modifiable, are associated with weight loss differences of significant impact in patients undergoing RYGB or LAGB. The magnitude of this difference is large and clinically meaningful. In particular, the data suggest that developing positive changes in behaviour, including ceasing negative behaviours or increasing positive behaviours, can affect the amount of weight loss,” the authors write.

“This suggests that structured programs to modify problematic eating behaviours and eating patterns following bariatric surgery should be evaluated as a method to improve weight outcomes among patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The results also underscore the need for health care professionals to target these behaviours in the postoperative period.”

Explore further: Substantial weight loss for severely obese individuals three years after bariatric surgery

More information: JAMA Surgery. Published online April 20, 2016. DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2016.0395