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

• 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.

ObjectiveData 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.MethodsSubjects 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.ResultsSourness 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).ConclusionsFurther randomized studies are needed to clarify these differences.