title: Importance of nutrition visits after gastric bypass surgery for American veterans, San Francisco, 2004-2010.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nutrition counseling is important for veterans undergoing gastric bypass surgery. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the number of nutrition visits a patient attended and change in body mass index (BMI) after gastric bypass surgery for the veteran population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study examined veterans (N = 79) who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery from June 2004 through July 2010. Spearman's correlation and multivariate regression analysis were used to analyze data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant correlation was found between the number of postoperative nutrition visits and the change in postsurgery BMI at 2 years (Spearman's ρ = 0.21; P = .017). After adjusting for age, sex, and race, the association between postsurgery nutrition visits and BMI change persisted (β = 0.255; 95% confidence interval, 0.015-0.581; P = .039).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Veterans with more nutrition visits following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery experienced greater declines in BMI. This finding underscores the importance of the dietitian on the bariatric surgery team.
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center 4150 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121. E-mail: aungzwin@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Aung Zaw
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Win
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ceresa
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, Medical Service, San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Anne L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Schafer
authors.affiliation: Clinical Nutrition, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, Surgical Service, San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Lygia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015390:Gastric Bypass; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education*; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011182:Postoperative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012495:San Francisco; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*