ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Eating behaviour and level of binge eating was evaluated in patients undergoing abdominoplasty. Fifty-one women aged 25-50 years (mean, 36.4) with body mass index ranging from 18.5 to 29.99 kg/m2 were selected at the Abdominal Plastic Surgery Unit of the São Paulo Hospital (EPMUNIFESP). A mean of 1.2 kg of tissue was removed during abdominoplasty. Six months postoperatively, patients had a weight gain of 1.9%. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) and the Binge Eating Scale (BES) were administered preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively to all participants. After 6 months of abdominoplasty, DEBQ scores indicated a reduced ability to control food intake regarding restrictive, emotional and external eating (p < 0.001), and BES scores showed an increase in binge eating (p < 0.001) compared to baseline. Educational interventions and nutritional counselling may help patients to adopt healthy eating habits prior abdominoplasty and prevent the development of body image disorders.
