Taste Changes With Bariatric Surgery

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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It is commonly believed that a link exists between BMI and taste perception. One group of researchers observed that women who are obese experience reduced taste sensitivity when compared to normal-weight controls. Others have compared taste sensitivity between lean and obese subjects and found no significant differences. The inconsistencies in these studies demonstrate how much variation in taste sensitivity is possible when different factors are applied in research. Throughout several studies, one element remains constant - bariatric surgery causes appetite aversions. These changes in appetite and food preference likely have a large influence on the overall magnitude of post-surgical weight loss. Although many studies have investigated the changes in taste preference after bariatric surgery, few, if any, have focused on changes in sweet taste perception.

Detailed Description
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The overall goal of the present project is to determine how future bariatric surgery will affect the taste for sweet liquids. Taste perception will be assessed before surgery (pre-operative, pre-op) and after bariatric surgery, at approximately 1 month. Taste studies will be conducted with solutions prepared freshly before each test using sucrose dissolved in distilled water. Six concentrations of sucrose (table sugar) will be tasted in random order, with the most concentrated solution being roughly the sweetness of soda. The subject is blinded to the concentrations. It is hypothesized that there will be no significant difference in taste perception when pre-op and post-op values are compared. However, the investigators hypothesize that taste preference will identify solutions with lower concentrations post-op.

Official Title
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Taste Changes With Bariatric Surgery

Conditions
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Taste, Altered

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: taste test


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Women who plan to undergo bariatric surgery. Age: 21-70y. Non-smokers (at least 3 months post smoking cessation). Non-diabetic or prediabetic Exclusion Criteria: Subject on a medication known to affect taste perception: Antibiotics, thyroid medications, psychotropic, neurological, and cardiac medications. Inability to understand the test instructions. Subject has already undergone bariatric surgery

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 21 Years
Maximum Age: 70 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Bariatric surgery patients<br>All subjects will be patients scheduled for bariatric surgery. There is only one arm in this study. | Other: taste test<br>* All subjects will complete a procedure to determine their taste sensitivity to sweet tastants.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Taste Perception on an Interval Scale | Taste perception will be assessed by the subjects' responses to varying sucrose solutions. The interval scale begins with barely detectable at zero and goes up to strongest imaginable at 10. Subjects will be asked to draw an X at the location on the graph corresponding to their perception. | Change from baseline to one month after bariatric surgery | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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taste perception, bariatric surgery, taste preference, weight loss surgery