CORRELATES OF SERVICE UTILIZATION AND ADHERENCE TO DIETARY AND EXERCISE MODIFICATIONS IN A SAMPLE OF WOMEN BEFORE AND AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

This cross-sectional study of 163 women with a mean age of 48 examined service utilization before and after gastric bypass surgery. Time since surgery ranged from 12 months to over 6 years. Service use prior to surgery, specifically extended dietary counseling and attendance at bariatric support groups, was associated with a higher sense of coherence and better postsurgical dietary adherence. Attendance at groups after surgery was mildly associated with better exercise adherence. Postsurgical depression was significantly related to postsurgical weight gain and worse quality of life outcomes. A 9-item eating assessment designed for the study was used to examine pre and postsurgical dietary adherence. The measure detected a significant improvement in eating behaviors for the majority of participants. A path analysis indicated that postsurgical dietary adherence, sense of coherence, and BMI accounted for 59% of the variance in postsurgical quality of life