Link Between Increased Satiety Gut Hormones and Reduced Food Reward After Gastric Bypass Surgery for Obesity

Context: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is an effective long-term intervention for weight loss maintenance, reducing appetite, and also food reward, via unclear mechanisms. Objective: To investigate the role of elevated satiety gut hormones after RYGB, we examined food hedonic-reward responses after their acute post-prandial suppression. Design: These were randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover experimental medicine studies. Patients: Two groups, more than 5 months after RYGB for obesity (n = 7–11), compared with nonobese controls (n = 10), or patients after gastric banding (BAND) surgery (n = 9) participated in the studies. Intervention: Studies were performed after acute administration of the somatostatin analog octreotide or saline. In one study, patients after RYGB, and nonobese controls, performed a behavioral progressive ratio task for chocolate sweets. In another study, patients after RYGB, and controls after BAND surgery, performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging ...