Binge Eating among bariatric surgery patients

Abstract

Objective: This article reviews the literature addressing the prevalence of Binge eating disorder (BED) among bariatric surgery patients, both before and after surgery, and its impact on surgical outcome. The overall aim is to guide practitioners in the correct follow-up of patients. Methods: The literature published in the last five years was searched in Pubmed and Scopus databases using the following terms: binge eating disorder and bariatric surgery. In addition, the reference lists of all full publications were searched for relevant articles published in the same time period. Results: BED is the second most common psychiatric disorder among bariatric patients, but evidence regarding preoperative BED impact on surgery outcomes is inconsistent, with only three studies reporting less weight loss of patients with a prior diagnosis of BED than those without. Even if BED prevalence decreases after surgery, studies suggest that patients return to loss of control eating and frequent binge eating habits. There is a strong link between post-surgery problematic eating behaviors and weight regain and less weight loss. Conclusions: Further long-term research is required for a more complete understanding of the impact of pre and post-surgery BED. However, a close follow-up by a multidisciplinary team of professionals is imperative to prevent the decline in total percent weight loss with time that may be a result of reoccurrence and de novo occurrence of problematic eating behaviors.