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Negative weight perception may limit weight loss outcomes in patients with bariatric surgery
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In patients undergoing weight loss surgery, greater preoperative internalized weight bias is related to most postoperative depressive symptoms and a lower percentage of total body weight loss at 12 months after surgery, according to recent findings.
In the study, researchers enrolled 170 adults (women, 82%) undergoing bariatric surgery between October 2011 and November 2013 to determine the relationship between preoperative weight bias and 12-month postoperative weight loss. Overall, 83.6% of patients underwent gastric bypass surgery.
The researchers extracted and documented the patients’ demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively. Patients also completed the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS), an 11-item self-report questionnaire assessing negative self-perceptions about obesity. Responses were expressed through a 7-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to strongly agree,” with higher scores reflective of greater internalized weight bias.
The study’s primary outcomes was percent total body weight loss (%TBWL) at 12 months and the researcher used multiple regression models to assess the relationship between preoperative internalized weight bias and %TBWL.
The researchers found that among the patients, the average WBIS score by item was 4.54. At 12 months postoperatively, preoperative WBIS scores were inversely related to weight loss (P=.035). Additionally, higher preoperative WBIS scores were positively correlated with depressive symptoms (P<.001).
According to researcher Michelle L. Lent, PhD, investigator and clinical psychologist at Geisinger’s Obesity Institute, future studies are needed to explore methods of identifying and mitigating weight bias.
“How an individual internalized weight bias relates to depression before surgery as well as overall weight loss success 12 months following bariatric surgery,” Lent said in a press release.
Disclosure: See the full study for a complete list of the researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.
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