Is sleeve gastrectomy a good choice for people with a sweet tooth?

Sleeve gastrectomy is a novel bariatric surgical procedure showing promising weight loss results, even among individuals classified as moderate or severe sweet eaters before the surgery. Evidence suggesting that preoperative sweets consumption is not predictive of sleeve gastrectomy results are reported in a study published in Journal of Laparoendoscopic & Advanced Surgical Techniques (JLAST).

Federico Moser, MD and colleagues, Hospital Privado de Córdoba, and Verónica Gorodner, MD, Programa de Unidades Bariátricas, Córdoba, Argentina, are coauthors of the article "Sweet Eating Habit: Does This Affect the Results After Sleeve Gastrectomy?" They compared the percentage of excess weight loss at 6, 12, and 24 months after sleeve gastrectomy and pre-surgery eating habits among a group of obese individuals classified as mild, moderate, or severe sweet eaters.

"Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is gaining considerable favor among bariatric surgeons given its ease, safety profile, and amount of weight loss," says Editor-in-Chief P. Marco Fisichella, MD, MBA, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston, MA. "However, does this operation give optimal outcomes in terms of weight loss in those who prefer consumption of sweets? Drs. Moser and Gorodner have elegantly shown that sleeve gastrectomy can be performed even in those 'sweet eaters' for whom other procedures might be considered superior."