Citation: Nutritional deficiency of post-bariatric surgery body contouring patients: what every plastic surgeon should know. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. 2008 Aug;122(2):604-13
The authors state that weight loss surgery, particularly gastric bypass surgery, is currently the most effective treatment for inducing sustainable weight loss in morbidly obese patients. However, little research or follow-up intervention has been targeted at ensuring a nutritionally adequate weight loss diet following bariatric surgery. This has resulted in nutritional deficiencies becoming common among surgery recipients.
Additionally, weight loss surgery recipients tend to hit a plateau in their weight loss, after which they “become candidates for body contouring surgery” and other elective cosmetic surgeries. The present study aimed to highlight the nutritional deficiencies often found in the post surgery weight loss diet as they relate to subsequent body contouring operations. To accomplish this, the authors performed an extensive search of the literature on bariatric surgery procedures and attempted to compile that information into a cohesive review.
The authors report that the literature to date points to a pervasive protein deficiency in patients’ post surgery weight loss diets, as well as numerous vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These deficiencies are especially pertinent given the delicate nature of the surgeries and the need for adequate healing after the procedures.
They conclude that plastic surgeons working with patients who have undergone weight loss surgery need to be aware of the nutritional aspects of their patients’ overall condition at the time of consultation. The nutritional deficiencies seen in these patients can be minimized fairly easily by reinforcing post-surgical eating guidelines and by prescribing nutritional supplements.
Nutritional deficiency leads to slow healing times and poor quality of wound healing. While the optimal post surgery weight loss diet and nutrient densities cannot be established given the current literature, certain nutrient requirements can be ascertained.
The average patient who has received weight loss surgery will likely benefit from the following supplements:
The authors state that each of these nutrients has been solidly established as playing a significant role in promoting wound healing and on enhancing immune system functioning. Ensuring that each of these nutrients is obtained from a post surgery weight loss diet is essential for proper healing and maintenance of surgery-induced weight loss.
Comments (0) • Surgery Weight Loss Diet • August 2008
Citation: Effects of two energy-restricted diets differing in the carbohydrate/protein ratio on weight loss and oxidative changes of obese men. International Journal of Food Science & Nutrition. 2008 Jul 25;:1-13. Authors: Abete I, Parra D, Martinez De Morentin B, Alfredo Martinez J
This study aimed to compare the effects of two calorie-restricted weight loss diets on the subjects’ overall weight loss as well as their mitochondrial oxidative metabolism. The mitochondria are responsible for generating cellular energy, so the rate at which they consume fuel is thought to be a good measure of a person’s overall metabolic rate.
The diets that were compared in this study both restricted the amount of total food energy that participants were allowed to consume, and so both were low calorie weight loss diets. The difference between them was the macronutrient ratio, or the ratio of carbohydrate to protein. So one group of study participants followed a “traditional” high-carbohydrate, low calorie diet while the other group followed a high-protein, restricted carbohydrate diet.
To determine the differences in effect between these two diets, nineteen obese men were randomly assigned to follow one diet or the other for a total of eight weeks. The small number of participants and the relatively short duration of the study are limiting factors in the interpretation of the results. However, significant results were found within the context of these limitations.
Study participants who followed the high-protein, low carb weight loss diet lost significantly more weight than those following the “traditional” high-carbohydrate low calorie diet. The low carb group lost an average of around 8 pounds, while the high carb group averaged around 5 pounds.
In addition to the improved weight loss, the researchers found that mitochondrial oxidation was “activated” in the study participants consuming the high protein diet. The researchers propose that such a diet may actually be increasing the dieter’s metabolism, providing a metabolic advantage over weight loss diets that are higher in carbohydrate and lower in protein.
An interesting consideration that is not mentioned in the study is the fact that the “low-carbohydrate” diet group was consuming a much larger amount of carbohydrate than is typically prescribed for individual following a low carb weight loss diet. Carbohydrates still accounted for 40% of this group’s total caloric intake. This means that “low carb” study participants were still eating approximately 150 grams of carbohydrate each day.
Additional research may reveal whether the increase in protein alone may have produced the metabolic advantage seen in these study participants, or whether further reduction in carbohydrate intake might enhance this effect.
Comments (0) • High Protein Weight Loss Diet, Low Calorie Weight Loss Diet, Low Carbohydrate Weight Loss Diet, Weight Loss Diet Plans • July 2008