How Altered Gut-Brain-Axis Influences Food Choices: Part 2 (BrainFood)

Obesity is currently one of the most substantial health burdens. Due to the production of marked and sustained weight loss, bariatric surgery is an increasingly used therapeutic modality to combat obesity and its comorbidities. Surgical rearrangement of the gastrointestinal tract remarkably alters metabolism and hormones acting on neurological and hypothalamic signalling, involved in food decision-making and eating behaviour. In this context, many patients who underwent bariatric surgery self-report changes in appetite, satiety and food preferences. Furthermore, new gut hormone-based (e.g. GLP-1 receptor agonist or GLP-1-RA) pharmacotherapies which mimic the effect of bariatric surgery show impressive efficacy on weight reduction by modulation of food behaviour. However, the mechanisms of such functional changes, and how they relate to food decision-making and food purchase behaviour remain unknown. In Part 2 of the BrainFood-project, the investigators propose a novel approach using digital receipts from loyalty card to unravel the effect of obesity treatments (surgical and non-surgical) on eating and food purchase behaviour in daily life.

NCT Number	NCT04788836
Lead Sponsor	Lia Bally Collaborators: ETH Zurich
Conditions	Food Preferences, Obesity
Enrollment	61 participants
Start Date	2021-11-01
Primary Completion	2025-12-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-12-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-08-05