Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Bariatric Surgery

Investigating relationships between post-prandial gut hormone responses and taste liking ratings prior to and following bariatric surgery: a pilot study

International Journal of Obesity volumeĀ 46,Ā pages 2114ā€“2119 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Alterations in gut hormone secretion and reported changes in taste preferences have been suggested to contribute to the weight-reducing effects of bariatric surgery. However, a link between changes in gut hormone secretion and taste preferences following bariatric surgery has yet to be elucidated.

Methods

Here we examined the potential relationships between gut hormone responses (GLP-1 and PYY3-36 peak, ghrelin trough) to a test meal of Ensure and liking ratings for taste mixtures varying in sugar and fat content before and following bariatric surgery (vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG): Nā€‰=ā€‰4; Roux-en Y gastric bypass (RYGB): Nā€‰=ā€‰8).

Results

Significant increases in GLP-1 and PYY3-36 peak and a significant drop in ghrelin trough were observed following surgery. Pre- and postoperation, patients with higher postprandial GLP-1 or PYY3-36 peaks gave lower liking ratings for mixtures containing a combination of fat and sugar (half and half + 20% added sugar) whereas, for the combined surgery analyses, no relationships were found with solutions comprised of high fat (half and half + 0% sugar), predominantly high sugar (skim milk + 20% added sugar), or low fat and low sugar (skim milk + 0% added sugar). Within the RYGB patients, patients with the greatest increase in postprandial GLP-1 peak from preoperation to postoperation also demonstrated the greatest decrease in liking for half & half + 20% added sugar and skim milk + 20% added sugar, but not the unsweetened version of each solution. No pre- or postoperative relationship between ghrelin and liking ratings were observed.

Conclusion

Gut hormone responses following bariatric surgery may contribute to taste processing of sugar+fat mixtures and together influence weight loss.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Postprandial gut hormone responses and weight loss measures in bariatric patients prior to and following surgery.
Fig. 2: Relationship between postprandial gut hormone responses and taste liking ratings in patients prior to bariatric surgery.
Fig. 3: Relationship between postprandial gut hormone responses and taste liking ratings in patients following bariatric surgery.
Fig. 4: Relationship between āˆ†GLP-1 peak and taste liking ratings following RYGB.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Data available on request to the corresponding author.

References

  1. Samat A, Malin SK, Huang H, Schauer PR, Kirwan JP, Kashyap SR. Ghrelin suppression is associated with weight loss and insulin action following gastric bypass surgery at 12 months in obese adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2013;15:963.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  2. Smith EP, Polanco G, Yaqub A, Salehi M. Altered glucose metabolism after bariatric surgery: Whatā€™s GLP-1 got to do with it? Metabolism. 2018;83:159ā€“66.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  3. le Roux CW, Aylwin SJB, Batterham RL, Borg CM, Coyle F, Prasad V, et al. Gut hormone profiles following bariatric surgery favor an anorectic state, facilitate weight loss, and improve metabolic parameters. Ann Surg. 2006;243:108ā€“14.

    ArticleĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  4. Ahmed K, Penney N, Darzi A, Purkayastha S. Taste Changes after Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review. Obes Surg. 2018;28:3321ā€“32.

    ArticleĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  5. Smith KR, Moran TH. Gastrointestinal peptides in eating-related disorders. Physiol Behav. 2021;238:113456.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  6. Smith KR, Papantoni A, Veldhuizen MG, Kamath V, Harris C, Moran TH, et al. Taste-related reward is associated with weight loss following bariatric surgery. J Clin Investig. 2020;130:4370ā€“81.

    PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  7. La Sala MS, Hurtado MD, Brown AR, Bohorquez DV, Liddle RA, Herzog H, et al. Modulation of taste responsiveness by the satiation hormone peptide YY. FASEB J. 2013;27:5022ā€“33.

    ArticleĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  8. Takai S, Yasumatsu K, Inoue M, Iwata S, Yoshida R, Shigemura N, et al. Glucagon-like peptide-1 is specifically involved in sweet taste transmission. FASEB J. 2015;29:2268ā€“80.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  9. Kadouh H, Chedid V, Halawi H, Burton DD, Clark MM, Khemani D, et al. GLP-1 Analog Modulates Appetite, Taste Preference, Gut Hormones, and Regional Body Fat Stores in Adults with Obesity. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019;105:1552ā€“63.

    ArticleĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  10. Agarwal K, Maki KA, Vizioli C, Carnell S, Goodman E, Hurley M, et al. The Neuro-Endo-Microbio-Ome Study: A Pilot Study of Neurobiological Alterations Pre- Versus Post-Bariatric Surgery. Biol Res Nurs. 2022;24:362ā€“78.

    ArticleĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  11. Gutzwiller JP, Goke B, Drewe J, Hildebrand P, Ketterer S, Handschin D, et al. Glucagon-like peptide-1: a potent regulator of food intake in humans. Clinical Trial. 1999;44:81ā€“86.

    CASĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  12. Scruggs D, Buffington C, Cowan G Jr. Taste acuity of the morbidly obese before and after gastric bypass surgery. Obes Surg. 1994;4:24ā€“28.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  13. Nielsen MS, Andersen INSK, Lange B, Ritz C, le Roux CW, Schmidt JB, et al. Bariatric Surgery Leads to Shortā€Term Effects on Sweet Taste Sensitivity and Hedonic Evaluation of Fatty Food Stimuli. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2019;27:1796ā€“804.

    ArticleĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  14. Burge JC, Schaumburg JZ, Choban PS, DiSilvestro RA, Flancbaum L. Changes in patientsā€™ taste acuity after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for clinically severe obesity. J Am Diet Assoc. 1995;95:666ā€“70.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  15. Al-Alsheikh AS, Alabdulkader S, Johnson B, Goldstone AP, Miras AD. Effect of obesity surgery on taste. Nutrients. 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14040866.

  16. Shin YK, Martin B, Golden E, Dotson CD, Maudsley S, Kim W, et al. Modulation of taste sensitivity by GLP-1 signaling. J Neurochem. 2008;106:455ā€“63.

    ArticleĀ  CASĀ  PubMedĀ  PubMed CentralĀ  Google ScholarĀ 

  17. Treesukosol Y, Moran TH. Administration of Exendin-4 but not CCK alters lick responses and trial initiation to sucrose and intralipid during brief-access tests. Chem Senses. 2022;47. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjac004.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding to KES from the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and K23DK100559. Additionally, the NIH National Institute of Mental Health Neuroscience & Psychiatry T32 training program (T32MH015330) to support MMH and KRS. This work was also supported by R01DK019302 and a gift from Dalio Philanthropies to THM.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Matthew M. Hurley, Kimberly R. Smith.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Matthew M. Hurley,Ā Kimberly R. Smith,Ā Civonnia Harris,Ā Ethan J. GoodmanĀ &Ā Timothy H. Moran

  2. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Susan Carnell

  3. Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Vidyulata Kamath

  4. Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kimberley E. Steele

Authors
  1. Matthew M. Hurley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  2. Kimberly R. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  3. Civonnia Harris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  4. Ethan J. Goodman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  5. Susan Carnell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  6. Vidyulata Kamath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  7. Timothy H. Moran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

  8. Kimberley E. Steele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedĀ Google Scholar

Contributions

SC, VK, THM, KES designed the experiments. KES, CH recruited and consented patients. KRS, CH, KES collected samples and conducted the experiments and study visits. KES, SC managed regulatory oversight. MMH, KRS, EJG analyzed the data. MMH and KRS wrote the manuscript with all authors contributing to and approving the final draft.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kimberley E. Steele.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisherā€™s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hurley, M.M., Smith, K.R., Harris, C. et al. Investigating relationships between post-prandial gut hormone responses and taste liking ratings prior to and following bariatric surgery: a pilot study. Int J Obes 46, 2114ā€“2119 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-022-01214-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-022-01214-z

Search

Advanced search

Quick links