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Clinical Nutrition

Changes in eating behaviour and food choices in families where the mother undergoes gastric bypass surgery for obesity

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 35–40 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

There is a lack of research exploring the effects of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery on the patient’s family’s eating behaviour and food choices. The aim of the current study was to investigate changes in partners’ and children’s eating behaviour and food choices following maternal RYGB.

Subjects/Methods:

Sixty-nine women and their families were recruited from RYGB waiting lists at five Swedish surgical clinics. Data were collected during home visits 3 months before and 9 months after RYGB. Anthropometrical measures were taken, the adults completed the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire and the children completed the Children’s Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT). All participants also completed a short food frequency questionnaire.

Results:

Changes in scores were analysed using paired t-tests for unadjusted estimates or linear regression models with robust variance (General Estimating Equations) in order to enable age- and sex-adjusted estimates for the children. There were no meaningful differences in the partners’ eating behaviour or food choices. The boys, but not the girls, improved their ChEAT scores, as did the overweight/obese children in comparison with the normal-weight children. The boys, unlike the girls, also decreased their intake of soft drinks, as did the normal-weight children when compared with the overweight/obese children.

Conclusions:

No clear-cut changes were found in partners’ eating behaviour and food choices. Eating attitudes and soft drinks intake were improved among boys but not among girls. Differing modelling behaviour may partially explain these findings, but available data did not allow us to understand the underlying mechanisms.

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Acknowledgements

The current study was funded by a grant to Finn Rasmussen from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (grant number: 2008-0654), Stockholm County Council (ALF), NovoNordisk fund, Karolinska Institutet Diabetes Theme center, the National School in Caring Sciences at Karolinska Institutet (NFV) and through the Erling-Persson Family Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, Child and Adolescent Public Health Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    M Willmer, D Berglind, P Tynelius & F Rasmussen

  2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    A Ghaderi

  3. Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    E Näslund

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  1. M Willmer
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Correspondence to F Rasmussen.

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Willmer, M., Berglind, D., Tynelius, P. et al. Changes in eating behaviour and food choices in families where the mother undergoes gastric bypass surgery for obesity. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 35–40 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.136

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