Perception of health and quality of life after bariatric surgery

Purpose of the study: This research was on the perception of health and quality of life (QOL) among obese patients who have undergone a surgical weight loss intervention (SWLI). An additional aim of this study was to gain insight into the patients' overall perception of their health. Main Findings: Sixty-one members of an online support group participated in this study. Overall, 80.3% of the participants rated their QOL as excellent or very good and no one rated their QOL as poor. Individual perception of QOL and type of surgical intervention were studied to see if there was a relationship between the two. The individuals' QOL and perception of health improved with the passage of time since the SWLI. The results of this study lead us to conclude that SWLI has a positive effect on individual perception of health and QOL. Principal Conclusions: Perception of health and QOL is improved following an SWLI. This is greater in patients who underwent the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure, and greater still after the first year following the SWLI.