About 800.000 people in Germany suffer from a BMI > 40 kg/m2. Obesity surgery is one of the most effective strategies for weight loss in this population.

We assessed 150 patients prior to bariatric surgery and are at present conducting follow-up assessments after surgery. Evaluation included the Eating Disorder Examination for the assessment of eating patterns and eating related psychopathology. The SCID Interview was used to assess lifetime eating disorders.

At the time of abstract submission 49 patients had completed pre-surgery evaluation as well as the 1 year follow-up; 73.5% (n = 36) were female, mean BMI pre-surgery was 52.4 (SD = 7.9). At baseline 24.7% met full criteria for Binge Eating Disorder (BED), an additional 10.2% met all but one criteria (sub-threshold BED). 46.9% reported any eating disorder lifetime, among these 8.2% met criteria for lifetime Bulimia Nervosa.

59.1% of the patients reported Binge Eating (loss of control & a large amount of food) prior to the surgery, post surgery only 16.3% (n = 8) reported occurrence of loss of control over eating. Symptoms of BED re-occurred in only 6.1% (n = 3) of the patients, none of them meeting the full criteria for BED any more. 53.1% reported an increase in enjoyment in eating 1 year after surgery. Vomiting occurred frequently: 81.6% (n = 40) reported vomiting 1 year after surgery; however, vomiting with the intention to reduce weight was extremely rare (n = 1).