Changes in Food Preference and Food Cue Responsivity After Bariatric Surgery

Changes in Food Preference and Food Cue Responsivity After Bariatric Surgery

It has been suggested that obese people are more sensitive to sensory and rewarding effects of food, aspects that mediate food preferences and intake. Individuals that underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery frequently report changes in food preference. They indicate a decreased preference for highly rewarding energy dense foods. Changes in food preference might be related to alterations in central (brain) mechanisms, related to reward sensing. The smell and sight of food can be considered as anticipatory cues for the rewarding effects of food intake. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of gastric bypass surgery on (alterations in) food preferences. Secondly, this study aims at assessing the effect of gastric bypass surgery on the brain reward response when exposed to sight and smell of food stimuli with different sugar and fat contents.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Scheduled for Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery at Rijnstate hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• Lack of appetite
• Having difficulties swallowing/eating
• Being a vegetarian
• Allergic to food product used as stimuli in the study