Excess weight loss variation in late postoperative period of gastric bypass.

BACKGROUND: In the late postoperative period of gastric bypass surgery, we observe that many patients weight regain. The objective of this study was to determine the excess weight loss variation at 24 and 60 months postoperative. A secondary objective was to evaluate in the period described, the association of weight regain with red meat intolerance, age, gender, and body mass index.
METHODS: Historical cohort study includes only patients who had completed a follow-up of up to 60 months postoperative (93 patients). The variation in percent excess weight loss was determined at 24 and 60 months postoperative to assess any association with the variables preoperative body mass index (BMI), gender, age, and red meat intolerance.
RESULTS: The excess weight loss varied about -8.7% (95% CI: -12.1 to -5.4). This weight regain showed a significant association with the variable age, where the patients who regained the least weight tended to be younger than those who regained more (p = 0.012). When comparing the intolerance level to red meat with weight regain, we observed that the lower the intolerance the greater the weight loss, although this finding did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.13).
CONCLUSIONS: Weight regain did not compromise therapeutic success. Less weight regain was seen in younger patients. Patients with lower intolerance to red meat tended to show less weight regain. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of protein intake in weight regain in patients submitted to gastric bypass. No association between weight regain and preoperative BMI or gender was observed.