Understanding Dietary Monitoring and Self-Weighing by Gastric Bypass Patients: a Pilot Study of Self-Monitoring Behaviors and Long-Term Weight Outcomes

Background Weight and dietary monitoring have been associated with better weight loss outcomes among dieters using lifestyle modification, but they have rarely been studied among gastric bypass surgery patients. This exploratory study examined dietary and weight self-monitoring behaviors and their association with weight outcomes in a sample of gastric bypass patients who were at least 12 months post-surgery. Methods A convenience sample of 32 female and 5 male patients living in Upstate New York was recruited through support group list-servs. The participants completed an anonymous on-line survey about their weight histories, surgical histories, current weights, dietary monitoring practices, weight monitoring practices, and demographic characteristics. Measures were developed to assess frequency of monitoring behaviors (recording food intake, mentally tracking food, weighing/measuring foods, and self-weighing). Weight loss outcomes, based on self-reported weights, were current body mass index (BMI), percent excess BMI lost, and percent weight loss maintained. Results Mean pre-surgical BMI was 49.5 +/- 6.6. The participants were at an average of 32 months post-surgery with a BMI 31.2 +/- 6.6. They maintained 89.2 +/- 14.1 % of their weight loss and 76.3 +/- 26.0 % excess BMI was lost. Higher scores for dietary monitoring behaviors, being unmarried, and lower pre-surgery BMI were associated with lower current BMI and greater excess BMI lost when controlling for age, sex, and time since surgery. Conclusion This study yielded constructs, measures, and relationships that warrant further examination in a larger sample of gastric bypass patients.