Open AccessFood reward functions as affected by obesity and bariatric surgery
Author(s) -
Shin Ac,
Berthoud Hr
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.663
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1476-5497
pISSN - 0307-0565
DOI - 10.1038/ijo.2011.147
Subject(s) - obesity , medicine , weight loss , gastric bypass , reward system , neuroscience , gastric bypass surgery , feeding behavior , eating behavior , bioinformatics , psychology , endocrinology , biology
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) remains to be the most effective long-term treatment for obesity and its associated comorbidities, but the specific mechanisms involved remain elusive. Because RYGB patients appear to no longer be preoccupied with thoughts about food and are satisfied with much smaller meals and calorically dilute foods, brain reward mechanisms could be involved. Just as obesity can produce maladaptive alterations in reward functions, reversal of obesity by RYGB could normalize these changes or even further reset the food reward system through changes in gut hormone secretion, aversive conditioning and/or secondary effects of weight loss. Future studies with longitudinal assessments of reward behaviors and their underlying neural circuits before and after surgery will be necessary to uncover the specific mechanisms involved. Such new insights could be the base for future 'knifeless' pharmacological and behavioral approaches to obesity.