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Trends in Weight Regain Following Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Background

The primary purpose of this study was to assess weight loss and occurrence of weight regain among patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) using categorical analysis.

Methods

Study participants were selected from patients who underwent RYGB from a single institution. Participants (n = 300, mean procedure age = 45.6 ± 9.9) completed surveys for self-reported preoperative weight, current weight, and subsequent weights over postoperative years. Measured weights and confirmed procedure dates were acquired from patient medical records. Mean preoperative weight and BMI were 140.8 kg ± 32.1 and 49.7 ± 9.9, respectively, and mean years since surgery was 6.9 ± 4.9. Study subjects were mostly Caucasian (56.7 %) and female (80.3 %). Participants were stratified a priori into four cohorts based on percent of weight loss at 1 year, <25 % (n = 39), 25–30 % (n = 51), 30–35 % (n = 73), and >35 % (n = 113). General linear model analyses were conducted to assess the effect of year one weight loss on percent weight regain.

Results

The mean weight regain for all patients was 23.4 % of maximum weight loss. Using categorical analysis, mean weight regain in the <25, 25–30, 30–35, and >35 % weight loss cohorts was 29.1, 21.9, 20.9, and 23.8 %, respectively. Excessive weight regain, defined as ≥25 % of total lost weight, occurred in 37 % of patients.

Conclusion

Weight gain is a common complication following RYGB surgery. Despite the percentage of weight loss over the first year, all cohort patient groups regained on average between 21 and 29 % of lost weight. Excessive weight gain was experienced by over one third of patients. Greater initial absolute weight loss leads to more successful long-term weight outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

Northwestern Medicine

Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW)

Center for Lifestyle Medicine

Department of Surgery

Department of Medical Social Sciences

Chris Mitchell, EDW

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Disclosure Statement

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Timothy C. Cooper

  2. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 325 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL, 60654, USA

    Elizabeth B. Simmons

  3. Center for Lifestyle Medicine, Northwestern Medicine ‘Northwestern Medicine’, 675 N. St. Clair St., Galter Pavilion, Suite 17-250, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Kirsten Webb

  4. Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, 633 N. St. Clair St., 19th floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    James L. Burns

  5. Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 750 North Lake Shore Drive, Rubloff 9-976, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Robert F. Kushner

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  1. Timothy C. Cooper
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Correspondence to Robert F. Kushner.

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Cooper, T.C., Simmons, E.B., Webb, K. et al. Trends in Weight Regain Following Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 25, 1474–1481 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-014-1560-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-014-1560-z

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