Background

The impact of food environment on weight loss after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy in South Carolina is not well studied. Specifically, there is a lack of evidence in the Upstate region of South Carolina regarding the efficacy of weight-loss surgery in patients who live in a poor food environment. Our study is a single-center, retrospective review of 134 post-bariatric surgery patients that aims to assess the relationship between food environment and weight loss after bariatric surgery. We determined patients' food environments using the Center for Disease Control (CDC) modified food retail environment index (mRFEI) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) food desert map. We assessed weight loss using percent of excess weight loss based on an ideal BMI of 25 g/m². We found no correlation between weight loss and food environment at 6 months (r= -0.13; p=0.14), 13 months (r= -0.12; p=0.22), 18 months (r= 0.04; p=0.75), 24 months (r= -0.17; p=0.25), or 36 months (r= -0.16; p=0.43) after bariatric surgery. Our data suggest there is no significant correlation between weight loss after bariatric surgery and living in an area with poor access to healthy food retailers. This study supports bariatric surgery as an effective method for weight loss regardless of patients’ food environment.