Research
Hormonal
Bariatric surgery (specifically Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) can establish a new, lower body weight set point by altering gastrointestinal signals to the brainstem, thereby suppressing the counterregulatory hunger and hypometabolism typically seen after diet-induced weight loss.
For morbid obesity, surgery may be necessary to reset the body's defended weight. Unlike dieting, which triggers hunger, surgery appears to suppress this hunger biologically. However, it is invasive and requires lifelong management.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Unlike weight loss induced by food restriction, which in most studies results in increased hunger and hypometabolism, weight loss induced by gastric bypass surgery appears to suppress these counterregulatory adaptations.
Why this rating
Supported by mouse studies showing no increase in AgRP/NPY mRNA after surgery, contrasting with starvation.
Source
Physiology of Energy Intake in the Weight‐Reduced State
Hans‐Rudolf Berthoud et al. · Obesity · 2021
DOI 10.1002/oby.23080
narrative_reviewCited 18×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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