Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control

Eating more than is required to maintain bodyweight is weakly resisted physiologically, as appetite does not closely track body energy balance. What does limit energy intake is the capacity of the gut to accommodate and process what is eaten. As the gut empties, we are ready to eat again. We typical...

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Main Authors: Rogers, P, Ferriday, D, Jebb, S, Brunstrom, J
Format: Journal article
Published: John Wiley & Sons Ltd 2016
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author Rogers, P
Ferriday, D
Jebb, S
Brunstrom, J
author_facet Rogers, P
Ferriday, D
Jebb, S
Brunstrom, J
author_sort Rogers, P
collection OXFORD
description Eating more than is required to maintain bodyweight is weakly resisted physiologically, as appetite does not closely track body energy balance. What does limit energy intake is the capacity of the gut to accommodate and process what is eaten. As the gut empties, we are ready to eat again. We typically refer to this absence of fullness as ‘hunger’, but in this state, even when it is prolonged (e.g. by missing one or two meals), our mental and physical performance is not compromised because body energy stores are mobilised to sustain energy supply to our brain and muscles. We illustrate this by discussing research on the effects of missing breakfast. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it appears that missing breakfast leads to a reduction in total daily energy intake and does not impair cognitive function (in adequately nourished individuals). The problem with missing a meal or eating smaller meals, however, is that we miss out on (some of) the pleasure of eating (food reward). In current studies, we are investigating how to offset the reduced reward value of smaller food portions, by, for example, altering flavour intensity, food variety and unit size, in order to maintain overall meal satisfaction and thereby reduce or eliminate subsequent compensatory eating.
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spelling oxford-uuid:e71d3e51-9c12-4120-8143-6af5565aa62c2022-03-27T10:36:04ZConnecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite controlJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:e71d3e51-9c12-4120-8143-6af5565aa62cSymplectic Elements at OxfordJohn Wiley & Sons Ltd2016Rogers, PFerriday, DJebb, SBrunstrom, JEating more than is required to maintain bodyweight is weakly resisted physiologically, as appetite does not closely track body energy balance. What does limit energy intake is the capacity of the gut to accommodate and process what is eaten. As the gut empties, we are ready to eat again. We typically refer to this absence of fullness as ‘hunger’, but in this state, even when it is prolonged (e.g. by missing one or two meals), our mental and physical performance is not compromised because body energy stores are mobilised to sustain energy supply to our brain and muscles. We illustrate this by discussing research on the effects of missing breakfast. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it appears that missing breakfast leads to a reduction in total daily energy intake and does not impair cognitive function (in adequately nourished individuals). The problem with missing a meal or eating smaller meals, however, is that we miss out on (some of) the pleasure of eating (food reward). In current studies, we are investigating how to offset the reduced reward value of smaller food portions, by, for example, altering flavour intensity, food variety and unit size, in order to maintain overall meal satisfaction and thereby reduce or eliminate subsequent compensatory eating.
spellingShingle Rogers, P
Ferriday, D
Jebb, S
Brunstrom, J
Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
title Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
title_full Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
title_fullStr Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
title_full_unstemmed Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
title_short Connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
title_sort connecting biology with psychology to make sense of appetite control
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AT ferridayd connectingbiologywithpsychologytomakesenseofappetitecontrol
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