Effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy on taste acuity and sweetness acceptability in postsurgical subjects

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Vol. 32; no. 11-12; pp. 1299 - 1302
• Main Authors: El Labban, Sibelle, Safadi, Bassem, Olabi, Ammar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2016; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; analysis of variance; bariatric surgery; bitterness; Body mass index; Female; Food preferences; Gastrectomy - adverse effects; Gastric bypass; Gastric Bypass - adverse effects; Gastrointestinal surgery; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity, Morbid - physiopathology; Obesity, Morbid - surgery; Observational studies; Pilot Projects; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Postoperative Complications - physiopathology; Postoperative period; Preferences; Retrospective Studies; saltiness; sensory evaluation; Sleeve gastrectomy; sourness; Studies; Sucrose; sweetness; Taste; Taste Disorders - etiology; Taste Disorders - physiopathology; Taste Perception; Taste Threshold; Variance analysis; Weight control; Young Adult; Food preferences; Taste; Gastric bypass; Sleeve gastrectomy
• ISSN: 0899-9007; 1873-1244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2016.03.022

Data on taste acuity after bariatric surgery are scarce, and taste perception after sleeve gastrectomy, to our knowledge, has never been investigated. The objective of this work was to retrospectively compare taste acuity and sweetness acceptability after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. Subjects with a postoperative period ≥6 mo were recruited (between January and June 2012) for a non-randomized, observational study. Subjects completed sensory evaluation sessions consisting of measurement of detection thresholds for bitterness and sweetness (N = 21), saltiness and sourness (N = 19), and sweetness acceptability (N = 19). Significance was established with Tukey's honest significant difference test and analysis of variance using the SAS GLM procedure. Sourness threshold was significantly higher among subjects who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (P = 0.0045). No other differences were obtained for the other thresholds or sweetness acceptability (P > 0.05). Further randomized studies are needed to clarify these differences. •Taste acuity and sweetness acceptability after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy were compared•Sourness threshold was significantly higher among subjects who had undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.•No other differences were observed for other thresholds or sweetness acceptability.