Eating Behaviors

Objective Previous studies that have investigated the relationshipbetween binge eating and the long-term outcome of bariatric surgeryhave shown mixed results. Does binge eating before or after bariatricsurgery affect long-term BMI, health-related quality of life (HRQL), orpsychopathology after surgery? The objective of the present studywas to address these questions to determine the extent to whichbinge eating needs to be addressed in the context of bariatric surgeryMethods. We assessed 173 bariatric patients before and three yearsafter weight loss surgery with regard to weight, binge eating, HRQL,and psychopathology.Results. Binge eating habits before and after weight loss surgerywere unrelated to the long-term BMI outcome. Binge eating afterweight loss surgery was associated with more psychopathology and alower HRQL.Conclusion. Binge eating before or after weight loss surgery doesnot predict long-term BMI outcome. Therefore, exclusions fromsurgery for this reason alone are difficult to motivate. However,results show that binge eating after weight loss surgery is commonand is associated with both more psychopathology and a lower HRQL.The poor psychological health status of patients that binge eat afterweight loss surgery motivates studies with longer follow-up periods toinvestigate whether post-surgical binge eating might increase thevulnerability to future weight regain and complications at time pointsbeyond three years. The high rate of binge eating after surgery andits negative association with the HRQL and psychopathology indicatethat we need to be observant of the occurrence and potential effectsof binge eating in the context of bariatric surgery.