Personality as a predictor of weight loss maintenance after surgery for morbid obesity.
OBJECTIVE
Personality characteristics are assumed to underlie health behaviors and, thus, a variety of health outcomes. Our aim was to examine prospectively whether personality traits predict short- and long-term weight loss after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.


METHODS
Of patients undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, 168 (143 women, 25 men, 18 to 58 years old, mean 37 years, preoperative BMI 45.9 +/- 5.6 kg/m(2)) completed the Dutch Personality Questionnaire on average 1.5 years before the operation. The relationship between preoperative personality and short- and long-term postoperative weight loss was determined using multilevel regression analysis.


RESULTS
The average weight loss of patients progressively increased to 10 BMI points until 18 months after surgery and stabilized thereafter. A lower baseline BMI, being a man, and a higher educational level were associated with a lower weight loss. None of the personality variables was associated with weight outcome at short-term follow-up. Six of seven personality variables did not predict long-term weight outcome. Egoism was associated with less weight loss in the long-term postoperative period. The effect sizes of the significant predictions were small.


CONCLUSIONS
None of the personality variables predicted short-term weight outcome, and only one variable showed a small and unexpected association with long-term weight outcome that needs confirmation. This suggests that personality assessment as intake psychological screening is of little use for the prediction of a poor or successful weight outcome after bariatric surgery.
Larsen
Junilla K
JK
Department of Health Psychology, Utrecht university, Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.larsen@maw.ru.nl
Geenen
Rinie
R
Maas
Cora
C
de Wit
Pieter
P
van Antwerpen
Tiny
T
Brand
Nico
N
van Ramshorst
Bert
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015390:Gastric Bypass; D015391:Gastroplasty; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000601:surgery*; D010551:Personality; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss