Background: The aim was to assess the romantic and peer relationships of bariatric surgery candidates and associations with health behaviors.
Method: Adults seeking bariatric surgery (N = 120) completed surveys addressing health behaviors and social relationships at information sessions. Analysis was done to compare male/female differences in peer and romantic relationships and associations with health behaviors. Previously published reference (REF) data on the Relationship Structures questionnaire was used for comparison, and to split our sample into those ≤ or > REF mean for relationship anxiety and avoidance.
Results: Our sample reported higher avoidance and lower anxiety in their close friendships and romantic relationships compared to the REF sample. Men in our sample had higher peer and romantic relationships avoidance compared to the REF sample and had significantly higher close friendship avoidance than women in our sample. Participants with lower anxiety in their romantic relationships (≤ REF) had higher uncontrolled eating and physical activity; those with more anxiety in their romantic relationships (> REF) had a higher BMI.
Conclusions: Our findings highlight the potential influence that social relationships may have on health behaviors within the bariatric surgery population. Further investigation is warranted to explore male bariatric surgery candidates' relationships to inform understanding and intervention development.
Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Couples; Peer relationships; Romantic relationship; Support.