Changes in appetite, taste, smell, and food aversion in post-bariatric patients and their relations with surgery time, weight loss and regain

Purpose We aimed to study the occurrence of long-term changes in appetite, taste, smell perceptions, and food aversion in patients following bariatric surgery. Additionally, we compared two surgery types, excess weight loss, rate of weight regain, and time since surgery. Methods This cross-sectional study included 146 post-bariatric patients who were without regular medical follow-up (126 post- Roux-en-Y gastric bypass [RYGB] and 20 post-sleeve gastrectomy [SG]), aged 42 ± 8 years, BMI of 32.6 ± 6.3 kg/m 2 , with excess weight loss of 87.5 ± 20.2%, rate of weight regain (RWR) of 15.4 [3.9–30.9]% and time since surgery of 5.0 ± 4.0 years. They answered a questionnaire about sensory and food perceptions at their first medical appointment at our unit. Results Changes in appetite (76%), taste (48.6%), and an increased sensation for sweet taste (60.2%) frequently occurred in our sample. Sensory and food aversion perceptions, taste changes to specific foods, and loss level of taste and smell were similar between RYGB and SG. No differences between patients with or without changes in appetite, taste, smell, and food aversion perceptions concerning excess weight loss were observed. The RWR in post-RYGB was lower in those with changes in taste and smell ( P = 0.05). Sensory changes were noted in those with shorter time since surgery for both surgeries ( P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion Changes in appetite and taste occurred frequently in our patients even in the long term. Post-RYGB patients with lower RWR had more changes in taste and smell while a shorter time since surgery showed more frequent changes in appetite, taste, and smell. Level of evidence Level V, cross-sectional study. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04193384).