Few data about other possible vitamin deficiencies in morbidly obese patients are available (10), although their dietary habits obviously deviate from those of nonobese individuals (11).
Bariatric surgery is used with increasing frequency and is the therapeutic option that offers patients with morbid obesity the most pronounced and lasting weight reduction (12). However, bariatric surgical procedures may induce malabsorption and fre- quently result in nutritional deficiencies (13). The combination of a low preoperative vitamin concentration and the malabsorp- tion that often follows bariatric surgery may render these patients prone to severe vitamin deficiencies.