Nutritional Education for Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery Improves Knowledge of Post-Bariatric Dietary Recommendations

Objective: The short and long-term success of bariatric surgery is determined by patient adherence to post-operative dietary recommendations. Nutritional education programs are reported to be effective in increasing patient adherence to dietary recommendations. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of nutritional education on nutritional knowledge related to post-bariatric dietary recommendations on Saudi bariatric patients and the impact of time on their knowledge retention following the education. Methods: In this repeated measure pre- to post-intervention study, 55 patients (19 male, 36 female), aged between 20-65 years, were recruited from the Surgical Clinics at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Patients were asked to complete an Eating after bariatric surgery (EABS) questionnaire before receiving nutritional education and three times after the education: immediately and at one and three months post-nutritional education. Results: The nutritional knowledge of patients, measured by EABS, improved significantly (p<0.001) after the educational session; however, total scores after one and three months showed no significant improvement in knowledge compared to the pre-educational period. Hence, nutritional education improved post-bariatric nutritional knowledge in bariatric patients in the short-term; however, this nutritional knowledge was not retained after one to three months. Conclusion: We conclude that it is important for nutritional education to be delivered prior to surgery, with ongoing follow-up after surgery, to improve the long-term adherence of patients to dietary recommendations.