The impact of disordered eating and eating behavior on weight loss after sleeve gastrectomy in Egyptian adolescents

Background

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for obesity in Adolescents. However, disordered eating is frequent in this population. Several studies found that disordered eating affects weight loss after bariatric surgery. The aim of this study was to find out the impact of disordered eating on weight loss in Egyptian adolescents two years after sleeve gastrectomy.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Ain Shams University Hospitals from March 2020 to March 2024. It included 47 adolescents with obesity who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) two years before. Their age was 16.2 ± 0.67 years (range 14.5 – 17.8 years old). Their body mass indices were above 99th percentile for age and sex with or without comorbidities. They had a mean BMI of 39.9 kg/m² (range: 36.9 – 54.3 kg/m²). Patients with psychiatric illnesses and eating disorders were excluded. Patients were recruited after completion of two years of follow up for weight loss. Weight loss was evaluated by total weight loss % (TWL%). Disordered eating was detected by the Arabic version of EDE-Q v.6.0, and a global score of > 2.5 was considered positive. TWL% was correlated with EDE-Q score.

Results

After two years, the mean TWL% was 27.5% ± 7.7%. Nineteen patients (40.4%) had EDE-Q score more than 2.5. The EDE-Q positive patients had a mean %TWL of 25.7% ± 4.8%, while EDE-Q negative patients had a mean %TWL of 30.5% ± 6.2%. The difference is statistically significant.

Conclusion

We conclude that the outcome of sleeve gastrectomy in adolescents is affected by their eating behavior as soon as the restrictive effect of the operations subsides.