SAT-115 Body Image Dissatisfaction and Distortion in Bariatric Patients

Abstract

Background: Obesity prevalence has been increasing progressively worldwide. Bariatric surgery is considered one of the most important treatment modalities for class III obesity. Obese individuals may present distortion of body image perception. : To assess body image perception in bariatric patients, 65 subjects were evaluated using the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale (SFRS). SFRS figures are rated from 1 to 9, ranging from extreme thinness (= 1) to extreme obesity (= 9). Patients selected the figure they thought represented how they looked and indicated the one that corresponded to their ideal body image. Forty-two patients were evaluated before gastroplasty and 23 in the post-operatory phase (10.8 ± 9.9 months after surgery). Data from patients in pre- vs. post-operatory groups were compared. Post-bariatric patients were older (44.7 ± 12.1 vs. 36.1 ± 11.3 years; p = 0.0065) and there was a predominance of female patients in both pre- and post-bariatric groups (88.1% and 100%, respectively; p = 0.1521). Weight was higher in pre-bariatric subjects (118.0 ± 17.8 vs. 83.0 ± 16.1 kg; p < 0.0001) and, after surgery, patients’ excess weight loss corresponded to 63.4 ± 27.2%. As expected, BMI was lower in the post-bariatric group (31.84 ± 6.53 vs. 43.88 ± 9.20 kg/m²; p < 0.0001). The SFRS evidenced that pre-bariatric patients represented themselves with a mean value of 7.9 ± 0.6, which was significantly higher than the representation of post-bariatric patients (6.0 ± 1.8; p < 0.0001). There was no difference regarding the silhouette that represented their own ideal, when the two groups were compared (pre-bariatric = 3.6 ± 1.1, post-bariatric = 3.4 ± 1.2; p = 0.4400). Pre-bariatric patients revealed higher dissatisfaction with their body image (4.4 ± 1.1) than post-bariatric subjects (2.6 ± 1.7; p < 0.0001). However, body image distortion was higher in the post-bariatric patients (1.4 ± 1.0 vs. 0.8 ± 0.6; p = 0.0038), particularly due to image overestimation, which was present in 21.74% of this group and was absent in patients interviewed before surgery. Body image dissatisfaction was correlated with age (r = -0.2486; p = 0.0495), weight (r = 0.3726; p = 0.0022), and BMI (r = 0.3521; p = 0.0040), while image distortion was higher in females (r = 0.2525; p = 0.0424). We concluded that image dissatisfaction is highly prevalent in bariatric patients and persists after surgery. Self-perception of corporal and psychological modifications that take place after surgery could explain the higher prevalence of body image distortion in the post-operatory.