An examination of emotional and loss-of-control eating after sleeve gastrectomy surgery

Emotional eating has been identified as a predictor of poorer weight loss outcomes in non-bariatric clinical samples. It is unknown, however, whether emotional eating contributes to poorer weight loss outcomes after bariatric surgery or how it might be associated with loss-of-control (LOC) eating, a known predictor of post-surgical outcomes. This study examined the nature and significance of emotional eating among post-bariatric surgery patients with LOC eating. Participants (N = 134) were patients with LOC eating (at least once weekly) seeking treatment to help improve eating approximately 4-9 months following sleeve gastrectomy surgery. Participants were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination-Bariatric Surgery Version interview, Yale Emotional Overeating Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory-II. Emotional eating and LOC eating were significantly negatively correlated with post-surgical weight loss (p's < 0.05), both variables had a small effect. Linear regression analyses revealed that both emotional eating and frequency of LOC eating were independently associated with weight loss (R2 = 0.041 and 0.049, respectively). Our findings suggest that, among post-sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating, greater frequency of LOC eating and LOC eating in response to emotions are associated with poorer weight outcomes.