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Flavor-nutrient learning in restrained and unrestrained eaters

journal contribution
posted on 2016-01-22, 11:09 authored by Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, Gemma WitcombGemma Witcomb
After we consume a novel food an association can form between its sensory characteristics (e.g., taste properties) and the effect it has on the body (rewarding). Associations of this kind underpin much of our everyday dietary behavior because they mediate both the affective quality of food (flavor-preference learning) and the amount that we choose to consume (learning satiation). Notwithstanding this fact, very few studies have successfully demonstrated the process of dietary learning in human adults. In addition, based on evidence from related research, we explored whether learning is less likely to occur in individuals who have high scores on a measure of dietary restraint. Female participants (N=44) consumed two differently flavored desserts. Each was presented three times on separate days. One was formulated with a high-energy content (1882 kJ) and the other with a low-energy content (226 kJ). After training, we found little evidence for learned satiation. However, we did observe flavor-preference learning. Specifically, participants acquired a greater liking and desire-to-eat the dessert flavor that was paired with a higher energy density during training. Further analysis revealed that this effect on liking is qualified by dietary restraint. As predicted, unrestrained eaters demonstrated greater differential responding to the two desserts than did restrained eaters. These data provide further evidence for flavor–nutrient learning in adults and they highlight a hitherto unexplored and potentially important difference between restrained and unrestrained eaters.

Funding

This research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); Grant Reference D15238.

History

School

  • Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Published in

PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR

Volume

90

Issue

1

Pages

133 - 141 (9)

Citation

BRUNSTROM, J.M. and MITCHELL, G.L., 2007. Flavor-nutrient learning in restrained and unrestrained eaters. Physiology and Behavior, 90(1), pp. 133-141.

Publisher

© Elsevier

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publication date

2007

Notes

This paper is in closed access.

ISSN

0031-9384

Language

  • en