Madridge Journal of Food Technology

ISSN: 2577-4182

2nd International Conference on Obesity and Weight Loss
October 15-17, 2018, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Nutrition and Dietetic Practice in the Scope of Obesity Management using Bariatric Surgery

Elham A. Aljaaly

King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

DOI: 10.18689/2577-4182.a2.017

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Background: In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased and affects more than half the population in all age groups. One of the prevalent treatment options for obesity include bariatric surgery and Saudi Arabia is the fifth in order country that perform bariatric procedures. Registered dietitians (RDs) are members of bariatric surgery teams and play a critical role in pre and post-operation stages. This study aims to evaluate the dietetics practice in the scope of bariatric surgery in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional to evaluate dietetics practice and nutrition and dietetic services in the scope of bariatric surgery included registered dietitians and bariatric surgery patients from twelve governmental and private hospitals in Jeddah city.

Results: All RDs reported that their departments are not accredited by any of the international associations or organizations. All RDs are accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS), 81.3% (n=13) of dietetics staff those providing bariatric services are RDs, only one was general dietitian (GD) and two were diet Technician (DT). Fifty-percent (n-=8) of surgical RDs reported practicing in a specific field, of which 37.5% (n=3) are specialized in bariatric surgery. RDs (25.0%) seeing 3 to 10 patients/month and mainly they see bariatric only before operation. About 34%, (n=12) of patients reported never be seen by a dietitian, while 28.6% were seen by a dietitian before and after surgery. The majority of patients 77.8% (n=21) were satisfied about the delivered nutritional care plan by RDs and 60.7% (n=17) believe that RDsʼ involvement in their nutrition care was excellent.

Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate nutrition and dietetics services delivered to bariatric surgery patients for obesity management and involved feedback surveys from RDs and bariatric patients to assess their satisfaction about the provided nutrition and dietetic services in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Further studies are needed in different regions of Saudi Arabia to evaluate the dietetics practice in the scope of bariatric surgery and other scopes related to nutrition and dietetics