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Food reward functions as affected by obesity and bariatric surgery

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, pages S40–S44 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) remains to be the most effective long-term treatment for obesity and its associated comorbidities, but the specific mechanisms involved remain elusive. Because RYGB patients appear to no longer be preoccupied with thoughts about food and are satisfied with much smaller meals and calorically dilute foods, brain reward mechanisms could be involved. Just as obesity can produce maladaptive alterations in reward functions, reversal of obesity by RYGB could normalize these changes or even further reset the food reward system through changes in gut hormone secretion, aversive conditioning and/or secondary effects of weight loss. Future studies with longitudinal assessments of reward behaviors and their underlying neural circuits before and after surgery will be necessary to uncover the specific mechanisms involved. Such new insights could be the base for future ‘knifeless’ pharmacological and behavioral approaches to obesity.

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  1. Neurobiology of Nutrition Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    A C Shin & H-R Berthoud

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  1. A C Shin
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Correspondence to H-R Berthoud.

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H-R Berthoud received consulting fees from Mars Petfoods Inc. and AstraZeneca. AC Shin declares no conflict of interest.

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Shin, A., Berthoud, HR. Food reward functions as affected by obesity and bariatric surgery. Int J Obes 35 (Suppl 3), S40–S44 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2011.147

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