Correlates of Dietary Adherence and Maladaptive Eating Patterns Following Roux-en-Y Bariatric Surgery.

Abstract

Self-reported poor dietary adherence following bariatric surgery is associated with less successful weight loss outcomes. Poor dietary adherence is a global construct lacking specificity regarding its underlying, clinically targetable, maladaptive eating behaviors. Comprehensive online survey data were obtained from a sample of 274 adults who underwent Roux-en-Y surgery in the prior 1-12years. Correlations between dietary adherence and six eating-related behaviors were calculated, with the frequency of each behavior reported on a 7-point scale. Linear regression modeling was applied. All six maladaptive eating behaviors were highly correlated with dietary adherence (Pearson's r>0.5): grazing (r=-0.565), mindless eating (r=-0.572), loss of control eating (r=-0.517), eating "more than is best" after dinner (r=-0.518), eating foods off of one's plan (r=-0.557), and "when I eat something off-plan, I feel like I have blown it and I give up and eat more" (r=-0.574). The estimated regression coefficients in the linear model was statistically significant, [F(5, 261)=60.006, p<0.001] and accounted for approximately 54% of the variance of global dietary adherence (R 2=0.535, adjusted R 2=0.526). Six maladaptive eating behaviors accounted for a highly significant portion of post-Roux-en-Y patients' poor self- reported dietary adherence. Prospective studies are needed to investigate the relationship between targetable maladaptive eating behaviors and bariatric surgery outcomes.