Changes in fluid compartments and body composition in obese women after weight loss induced by gastric banding.
OBJECTIVE
Surgical gastric banding procedures induce considerable and rapid weight losses in obese subjects. Nevertheless changes in lean mass and body fluids following these surgical treatments are not well known.


METHODS
We studied 6 obese women aged 38-42 years, before, and 8 and 24 weeks after laparoscopic adjustable silicone gastric banding (LAP-BAND(TM)). Fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) were investigated using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), while total body water (TBW) and extracellular water (ECW) were assessed by dilution methods.


RESULTS
The subjects showed a total weight loss of 16% of initial weight; the weight reduction was greater during the first 8 weeks. FFM decrease after 24 weeks was very limited and represented only 14% of the weight loss. The mean FFM changes per week were similar in the two periods of observation (0-8 and 8-24 weeks after LAP-BAND). TBW showed a global reduction of 2.2 +/- 1.8 litres mainly due to a decline in intracellular water (ICW), while ECW remained constant during weight loss. As a consequence, the ECW/ICW ratio increased after LAP-BAND.


CONCLUSIONS
LAP-BAND seems to achieve satisfactory weight losses while sparing FFM and causing only mild body fluid alterations.
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Division of Geriatrics, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. giuseppe.sergi@tin.it
Giuseppe
G
Sergi
Lucia
L
Lupoli
Luca
L
Busetto
Stefania
S
Volpato
Alessandra
A
Coin
Roberta
R
Bertani
Irene
I
Calliari
Adriano
A
Berton
Giuliano
G
Enzi
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D001825:Body Fluid Compartments / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015391:Gastroplasty; D006801:Humans; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*