The effect of vertical sleeve gastrectomy on food choice in rats

OBJECTIVE: Diets high in fat are implicated in the development and maintenance of obesity, and obese individuals display greater preferences for high-fat foods than do their lean counterparts. Weight-reduction bariatric surgery is associated with changes in food choice. In particular, after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), humans and rodents select or prefer foods that are lower in fat content. We asked whether a bariatric surgical procedure limited to the stomach, vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), causes a similar reduction of fat intake/preference. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Rats received VSG or Sham surgery or remained surgically naïve, and were assessed for food preference using three diet-choice paradigms. Using progressive-ratio (PR) and conditioned taste aversion paradigms, we further asked whether surgically induced changes in food choice are secondary to changes in the reward value of food and/or to the formation of a food aversion. Finally, food choice was compared between VSG- and RYGB-operated rats. RESULTS: VSG rats decreased their intake of dietary fat, and shifted their preference toward lower caloric-density foods. This change in food choice was not associated with changes in motivated responding on a PR schedule for either a fat or a carbohydrate food reinforcer. When VSG and RYGB were compared directly, both procedures caused comparable changes in food choice. The conditioned taste aversion paradigm revealed that VSG rats form an aversion to an intra-gastric oil administration whereas RYGB rats do not. CONCLUSIONS: VSG and RYGB, two anatomically distinct bariatric procedures, produce similar changes in food choice.