BrainFood-Project

How do eating habits and food shopping behaviour change after weight-loss surgery?

A growing proportion of the world’s population is affected by obesity. Bariatric (weight-reducing) surgery is a recognized treatment option to achieve sustainable weight reduction. The altered structure of the stomach and intestines leads to numerous changes in hormone balance and metabolism. This particularly affects the communication between the stomach, the intestine and the brain, with possible effects on eating behavior and food preferences. The BrainFood project uses functional imaging, decision-making tasks and ongoing analysis of shopping data to investigate how eating behavior and food preferences change after bariatric surgery. The findings will be used to better understand the regulation of eating behavior in obesity and to derive new approaches for prevention and treatment.

Financial Support

  • Vontobel-Foundation
  • Foundation Johanna Dürmüller-Bol

Collaborations

  • ETH Zurich: Prof. Dr. Rafael Polania, Dr. sc. Klaus Fuchs
  • Bern University Hospital, University of Bern: Prof. Dr. med. Roland Wiest
  • Departement for viszeral surgery and medicine, center for bariatric surgery, Bern University Hospital, University of Berne and hospital Beau-Site, Bern; hospital Lindenhof, Bern

Principal Investigators