Recent advances in the modification of taste and food preferences following bariatric surgery.

There is a large body of evidence indicating that bariatric surgery provides durable weight loss and health benefits to patients who are obese and have comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, there are still many questions related to mechanisms of metabolic improvement, predictors of success/failure, and long term consequences, which need to be answered. More recently, there has been a particular interest in the modulation of taste and food preferences that occurs after bariatric surgery and how this affects weight loss in different individuals. Animal models as well as human studies have shed some light on the role of taste in changing food preferences and how these changes may affect weight loss after surgery. The goal of this review is to discuss the physiological and behavioral consequences of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and T2D, with particular emphasis on recent studies describing bariatric surgery-induced modifications in taste perception and food preferences.

Differences in short-term food preferences following vertical sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

Bariatric surgery is effective in reducing body weight and obesity-related comorbidities. This study examined differences in the short-term effect of Roux en Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) on the hedonic rating of food. Predominantly black women with complicated obesity and a BMI>50 g/m(2) completed a validated food preference questionnaire before and 1-3 months following surgery. Analysis of preference scores indicated that the preference for fat decreased with both surgeries. VSG also decreased the preference for sugar. Further studies are needed to evaluate long term effects of surgery on food preferences and to elucidate physiological mechanisms.