Food Quality in the Late Postoperative Period of Bariatric Surgery: An Evaluation Using the Bariatric Food Pyramid

Abstract

Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention in the treatment of obesity, but lifestyle and diet should be monitored after this procedure to ensure success. The Bariatric Food Pyramid was created basing on long-term nutritional care that proposes a standard of healthy living and eating habits considering gastric capacity and specific nutritional needs. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the life habits and diet quality of patients who have undergone bariatric surgery (who have been recovering for at least 6 months) based on the specific food pyramid. Retrospective data analysis was performed using medical records of patients who had been followed for at least 6 months after bariatric surgery. The following data were collected from patient records: age, gender, education level (years), BMI (preoperative and postoperative), percentage of excess weight loss (EWL) relative to the time of surgery, frequency of physical activity, use of nutritional supplements, usual dietary intake history, and fluid intake. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. We evaluated 172 patient records. In this study, there was a low prevalence of physical activity, use of vitamin-mineral supplements, and water intake. There also was low consumption of protein, fruit, vegetables, and vegetable oils. In addition, intake of carbohydrates, sugars, and fats were higher than the recommendations established by the pyramid. The results indicate that patients who have undergone bariatric surgery have an inadequate diet according to food evaluation with the specific pyramid. In the long term, this may lead to weight gain and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Dietary Assessment and Patients Perspective Reasons for Diet and Exercise Adherence Post Bariatric Surgery

“…[17] Fruits and vegetables provide the body with a wide range of nutrients. [18] In our study, the average intake of fruits and vegetables were "once daily" 1.51 ± 0.79, and 1.78 ± 0.76, respectively. These averages are lower than the recommended.…”

Patient adherence in following a prescribed diet and micronutrient supplements after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: our experience during 1 year of follow‐up

“…In particular, the results are similar to those reported by Soares et al . who, aiming to evaluate food quality in the late post‐operative period on bariatric surgery, used the bariatric food pyramid, showing that more than half of 172 patients studied had insufficient intake of fruit, vegetables and cereals, at both 6 months and 1 year, in comparison with the recommendations.…”

“…New research indicates that other causes of nutrient deficiency after bariatric surgery involve patients who do not follow exactly the post-operative dietary guidelines or the prescribed intake of regular supplements of vitamins and minerals (16) .…”

Consumo alimentar e sua associação com estado nutricional, atividade física e fatores sociodemográficos de candidatos à cirurgia bariátrica.

“…For the measurement, we placed the tape measure about 2cm above the umbilical scar due to the difficulty in obtaining the midpoint between the last rib and the iliac crest in these patients 13 14 . We estimated food intake by the adapted and directed Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), developed by Soares et al 15 , based on the parameters of the food pyramid for bariatric patients proposed by Moizé et al 16 . This We performed the consumption assessment based on the methodology proposed by Fornés et al 17 , in which the general calculation of the frequency of consumption is converted into scores.…”