Morbidly obese patients often have resorted to bariatric surgery as an effective resource to be used for weight loss. However, this procedure can cause significant behavioral changes. The objective of this study was to investigate levels of anxiety and depression, as well as the changes suffered in the perception of body image in obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery at three different times: preoperatively, 6 months and 12 months after surgery. This is a prospective longitudinal study of a quantitative approach. The study used the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Brazilian Scale of Figures Silhouettes for Adults. Surgery significantly decreased both the body mass index of patients and dissatisfaction with their body image. This weight loss and decreased body image dissatisfaction was accompanied by reduced levels of anxiety and depression, suggesting that these are important factors in the context obesity.
obesity; bariatric surgery; body image; anxiety; depression
