Abstract
Background
It is apparent from day-to-day practice that patients frequently report changes to their appetite, taste and smell after weight loss surgery. There has been surprisingly little written in the literature on this. The aim of the current study was to assess these parameters in a cohort of patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.
Methods
Questionnaires relating to appetite, taste and smell were administered to 188 patients who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery at our institution during the years 2000–2011.
Results
Responses were received from 103 patients (55 %). Sensory changes in appetite, taste and smell were noted by 97, 73 and 42 % of patients, respectively. Seventy-three percent of patients reported aversion to specific foods after surgery, with meat products the most commonly cited (33 %). Patients who experienced food aversions experienced more postoperative weight loss and reduction in BMI, compared to their counterparts without these features.
Conclusions
This study indicates that subjective changes in appetite, taste and smell are very common after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Patients are now routinely counselled about these changes as part of the informed consent process for surgery.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Welbourne R, Fiennes A, Walton P, et al. The United Kingdom National Bariatric Surgery Registry: First registry Report to March 2010. Henley-on -Thames: Dendrite Clinical Systems Ltd; 2011.
Colquitt JL, Picot J, Loveman E, et al. Surgery for obesity. The Cochrane Collaboration: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2009. http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003641.html.
Sjostrom L, Narbro K, Sjostrom CD, et al. Effects of bariatric surgery on mortality in Swedish obese subjects. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:741–52.
Kolotkin RL, Crosby RD, Gress RE, et al. Health and health related quality of life: differences between men and women who seek gastric bypass surgery. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2008;4:651–8.
Tichansky DS, Boughter JD, Madan AK. Taste change after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric band. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2006;2:440–4.
Harris AM, Griffin SM. Postoperative taste and smell deficit after upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery- an unreported complication. J Surg Oncol. 2003;82:147–50.
Bueter M, Lowenstein C, Ashrafian H, et al. Vagal sparing surgical technique but not stoma size affects body weight loss in rodent model of gastric bypass. Obes Surg. 2010;20:616–22.
Halmi KA, Mason E, Falk JR, et al. Appetitive behavior after gastric bypass for obesity. Int J Obes. 1981;5:457–64.
Thirlby RC, Bahiraei F, Randall J, et al. Effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on satiety and food likes: the role of genetics. J Gastrointest Surg. 2006;10:270–7.
Burge JC, Schaumburg JZ, Choban PS, et al. Changes in patients’ taste acuity after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for clinically severe obesity. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995;95:666–70.
Scruggs DM, Buffington C, Cowan GS. Taste acuity of the morbidly obese before and after gastric bypass surgery. Obes Surg. 1994;4:24–8.
Feng XH, Liu XM, Zhou LH, et al. Expression of glucagon-like peptide-1 in the taste buds of rat circumvallate papillae. Acta Histochem. 2008;110:151–4.
Gerspach AC, Steinert RE, Schonenberger L, et al. The role of the gut sweet taste receptor in regulating GLP-1, PYY, and CCK release in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011;301:E317–25.
Martin B, Dotson CD, Shin YK, et al. Modulation of taste sensitivity by GLP-1 signaling in taste buds. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2009;1170:98–101.
Shin YK, Martin B, Golden E, et al. Modulation of taste sensitivity by GLP-1 signaling. J Neurochem. 2008;106:455–63.
Conflict of Interest
Lisa Graham and George Murty declare no conflict of interest. David Bowrey receives research grant funding from Fresenius-Kabi and Nutricia for research unrelated to this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Graham, L., Murty, G. & Bowrey, D.J. Taste, Smell and Appetite Change After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery. OBES SURG 24, 1463–1468 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-014-1221-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-014-1221-2