The Association Between Appetite and Quality of Life in Adults with Obesity or Severe Obesity Post-Sleeve Gastrectomy Procedure: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is considered as the most common bariatric procedure in Saudi Arabia.It is a nonreversible procedure defined as removal of a large portion of the stomach.Objective: The objective of the current study is to compare the appetite and quality of life (QoL) between adults' post-sleeve gastrectomy and obese/morbidly obese adults (pre-SG).Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted in adults (aged between 18 and 65 years), post-sleeve gastrectomy (n = 80, 41 Males and 39 Females) and obese group (n = 60, 28 Males and 32 Females).The study population was recruited from the bariatric surgery clinic of King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz University Hospital.A self-reported questionnaire was collected that included a visual analogue scale (VAS) to assess the appetite level, and SF-36 QoL questionnaire.Results: No significant differences were found in age and gender between the study groups (p > 0.05).The median score feeling of fullness was significantly higher in the SG group (77.5, IQR: 48 and 50, IQR: 40, respectively) than in the obese group (p < 0.001).The amount of food eaten was statistically lower in the SG group (30, IQR: 20) than the obese group (50, IQR: 60) (p = 0.005).Patients post SG had significantly higher QoL scores in all physical and mental scales, physical component summary and mental component summary (p < 0.003).Conclusion: Patients post SG have improved appetite and QoL.Satiety, less prospective food consumption, BMI, age, gender and comorbidities are associated with QoL.Future studies are needed to compare the QoL in post-SG patients with the normative values of the QoL in Saudi Arabia.