Effects of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy on Food Preferences and Potential Mechanisms Involved

Purpose of Review Bariatric surgery leads to a substantial decrease in energy intake. It is unclear whether this decrease in energy intake is simply due to eating smaller portions of the same food items or a shift in food preference towards less energy-dense foods. This review evaluates the existing literature on changes in food preferences after bariatric surgery and the potential mechanisms involved. Recent Findings Changes in food preferences have been reported; however, the evidence is mainly based on indirect measurements, such as self-reporting. When changes in food preferences are directly assessed, results contradict previous findings, indicating that results based on self-reporting must be interpreted with caution as they do not necessarily reflect actual behaviour. However, it seems that there could be inter-individual differences in the response to surgery. Summary Future studies investigating changes in food preferences should not only focus on direct measured of behaviour but should also consider the heterogeneity of the response after bariatric surgery.