TY - JOUR
T1 - Patients’ Experiences of Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery
AU - Tolvanen, Liisa
AU - Christenson, Anne
AU - Surkan, Pamela J.
AU - Lagerros, Ylva Trolle
N1 - Funding Information:
Open access funding provided by Karolinska Institute. Liisa Tolvanen was supported by the Research School in Family medicine and primary care organized by Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm. Ylva Trolle Lagerros was funded by Region Stockholm (Grant Number DNR RS 2019–1140).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Purpose: Bariatric surgery is a successful obesity treatment; however, an estimated 1/5 of patients have regained more than 15% of their body weight 5 years post-surgery. To increase the understanding of patients who experienced weight regain after bariatric surgery, we conducted a qualitative study. Materials and Methods: We recruited 16 adult participants (4 men, 12 women) at an obesity clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, 2018 to 2019, and performed semi-structured individual interviews. The transcribed recorded interview data was analyzed with thematic analysis. Results: Participants had undergone gastric bypass surgery on average 10 years prior to study and regained 36% (range 12 to 71%) of their weight from their nadir. Participants experienced challenges such as eating in social settings, loneliness, family difficulties, increases in appetite, and physical and mental health problems, which distracted them from weight management. Participants responded to weight regain with emotional distress, particularly with hopelessness, discouragement, shame, and frustration (theme: loss of control and focus). Nonetheless, participants experienced remaining benefits from the surgery, despite weight regain. Social support, self-care, and behavioral strategies were perceived as facilitators for weight management (theme: reducing the burden of weight management). Conclusions: Weight regain after bariatric surgery was perceived to be an unexpected and difficult experience that induced hopelessness, discouragement, shame, and frustration. Results indicate that internal and external circumstances such as psychosocial factors, changes in appetite, and physical and mental health problems may contribute to loss of control over weight. Social support, self-care, and behavioral strategies might facilitate long-term post-surgical weight management. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
AB - Purpose: Bariatric surgery is a successful obesity treatment; however, an estimated 1/5 of patients have regained more than 15% of their body weight 5 years post-surgery. To increase the understanding of patients who experienced weight regain after bariatric surgery, we conducted a qualitative study. Materials and Methods: We recruited 16 adult participants (4 men, 12 women) at an obesity clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, 2018 to 2019, and performed semi-structured individual interviews. The transcribed recorded interview data was analyzed with thematic analysis. Results: Participants had undergone gastric bypass surgery on average 10 years prior to study and regained 36% (range 12 to 71%) of their weight from their nadir. Participants experienced challenges such as eating in social settings, loneliness, family difficulties, increases in appetite, and physical and mental health problems, which distracted them from weight management. Participants responded to weight regain with emotional distress, particularly with hopelessness, discouragement, shame, and frustration (theme: loss of control and focus). Nonetheless, participants experienced remaining benefits from the surgery, despite weight regain. Social support, self-care, and behavioral strategies were perceived as facilitators for weight management (theme: reducing the burden of weight management). Conclusions: Weight regain after bariatric surgery was perceived to be an unexpected and difficult experience that induced hopelessness, discouragement, shame, and frustration. Results indicate that internal and external circumstances such as psychosocial factors, changes in appetite, and physical and mental health problems may contribute to loss of control over weight. Social support, self-care, and behavioral strategies might facilitate long-term post-surgical weight management. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
KW - Bariatric surgery
KW - Body weight trajectory
KW - Interviews
KW - Obesity
KW - Thematic analysis
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U2 - 10.1007/s11695-022-05908-1
DO - 10.1007/s11695-022-05908-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 35061154
AN - SCOPUS:85123264310
SN - 0960-8923
VL - 32
SP - 1498
EP - 1507
JO - Obesity Surgery
JF - Obesity Surgery
IS - 5
ER -