🏥 Post-Bariatric Psychological Support Program Simulator

Pre-Surgery Psychological Baseline Assessment

Screening intake before surgery sets the psychological baseline.

• ~90%: Pre-op screening rate (programs requiring eval)
• ~20%: Baseline depression (candidates screening positive)
• ~15%: Binge-eating history (reported pre-surgery)
• 24 mo: Follow-up window (tracked post-op)

Why baseline screening matters

Pre-op mood, body image, and eating patterns predict post-op risk.

Early Post-Op Period — Rapid Change and Adjustment Stress

Fast weight loss brings identity and relationship strain early on.

• 0–6 mo: Rapid weight loss window (fastest change period)
• ~35%: Adjustment distress (report early stress)
• ~25%: Relationship strain (note partner tension)
• High: Body image shift (self-perception lag)

Identity and body image lag

Mental self-image often lags behind rapid physical change.

Risk Factors Without Structured Support

Unsupported patients show rising grazing, emotional eating, distress.

• ~55%: Disordered eating risk (unsupported by month 7)
• Common: Grazing behavior (unstructured snacking pattern)
• ~30%: Depression relapse (without follow-up care)
• Elevated: Suicide-risk flag (post-bariatric population)

Compounding risk without follow-up

Body image distress, grazing, and isolation reinforce each other.

Unscreened patients show the sharpest wellbeing dip.

With Structured Support Program

Counseling, groups, and screening stabilize the recovery curve.

• Monthly: Counseling cadence (structured program visits)
• ~70%: Support group uptake (engaged patients)
• Routine: Suicide-risk screening (every checkpoint)
• Routine: Substance-use screening (every checkpoint)

What structured support covers

Regular counseling, groups, and depression/substance/suicide screening.

Outcome — Supported vs. Unsupported Trajectories

By 24 months, supported patients diverge sharply upward.

• ~85: Supported wellbeing @24mo (score out of 100)
• ~55: Unsupported wellbeing @24mo (score out of 100)
• ~10%: Eating risk, supported (at 24 months)
• ~45%: Eating risk, unsupported (at 24 months)

The long-run divergence

Structured support compounds into a durable wellbeing advantage.

Early screening checkpoints predict the 24-month gap.