Reduced caloric intake following small bowel bypass surgery: a systematic study of possible causes

Food intake, appetite and a variety of feelings were measured pre- and post-operatively in obese patients undergoing jejuno-ileal bypass surgery. Decreased food intake correlated closely with the amount of weight loss at both 4 and 30 months after surgery. Malabsorption correlated with weight loss at 4 months but not 30 months post-operatively. The cause of the decreased food intake is unknown and cannot be completely explained by either depression, nausea, malabsorption, liver disease, an attempt to avert diarrhoea, or decreased appetite.