Daniel BuenoStomach-reduction surgery, a procedure used to treat morbid obesity, does not solve the problem of excess weight on its own. The operation may even be worthless unless there is a strict change in eating habits, according to a study by researchers from São Paulo State University (UNESP). Nutritionist Rita Maria de Oliveira Marques and her team analyzed the pattern of food consumption reported by 141 women who had undergone stomach reduction surgery two and seven years before the survey. Out of the 141 cases, 119 were considered successful and lost more than half of their excess weight. These women consumed 20% less energy than the organism needs. The other 22 women, whose surgery results were not as encouraging, only consumed 10% fewer calories than necessary. Another important difference between the diets is their content: the diets of those who lost the least amount of weight contained more fat and fewer essential nutrients (folic acid, vitamins C and E) than the diet of those who lost more weight (Nutrition Research, May 2012). According to the study, the lack of nutrients observed in people undergoing surgery seems to depend on the quality of food as well as on the reduction of the digestive tract – as the women lost weight, their nutrient level intake became more appropriate.
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