Emotional eating and emotional eating alternatives in subjects undergoing bariatric surgery.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to characterize emotional eating and its alternatives in obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery.


METHODS
The medical charts of 178 consecutive patients who had laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass provided by a multidisciplinary bariatric program were reviewed. Data from patients who had emotional eating, reported strategies to overcome their urges to emotionally eat, and had their 6 months follow-up after surgery (N=50) were further analyzed in terms of weight history, medical co-morbidity prior to surgery, weight loss after surgery, and lifetime psychiatric status.


RESULTS
38.7% of the 178 bariatric surgery patients reported emotional eating. Patients reported using three main types of behaviors (oral, sedentary and physical activity) to overcome urges to eat emotionally. Most patients (42%) experiencing emotional eating chose sedentary behaviors to overcome urges to eat in response to emotion. The three groups did not differ in any of the examined variables.


CONCLUSIONS
While patients using different coping mechanisms to overcome urges to eat emotionally did not differ before and 6 months after surgery, further research is needed to examine the frequency and long-term effects of emotional eating in bariatric surgery patients.
Guerdjikova
Anna I
AI
Psychopharmacology Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0559, USA. guerdja@ucmail.uc.ed
West-Smith
Lisa
L
McElroy
Susan L
SL
Sonnanstine
Thomas
T
Stanford
Kevin
K
Keck
Paul E
PE
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D015897:Comorbidity; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015390:Gastric Bypass / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control