Elsevier

Appetite

Volume 52, Issue 3, June 2009, Pages 809-812
Appetite

Short communication
Relationship between diet-induced changes in body fat and appetite sensations in women

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.04.003Get rights and content

Abstract

To quantify the impact of weight/fat loss on appetite sensations, 54 overweight women followed a caloric restriction program (−2900 kJ/day). Their body composition and appetite sensations were assessed. Visual analogue scales (VAS) were used to measure desire to eat, hunger, fullness and prospective food consumption. The results showed that there is a significant association between the decrease in body fat mass and the change in appetite sensations, predicting a 5.8-mm increase in desire to eat and a 3.6-mm decrease in fullness per kg fat loss. This quantified relationship could serve as a reference point to evaluate the satiating efficiency of functional foods when they are combined with a weight-reducing program.

Introduction

The maintenance of a reduced obesity state is very challenging, in part because of the natural compensatory tendency observed after a starvation period (Elia, 2000). In fact, an augmentation in the motivation to eat may result in a reduced compliance to a dietary program (Doucet et al., 2003, Drapeau et al., 2007). Indeed, Pasman, Saris, and Westerterp-Plantenga (1999) reported that hunger score was an important predictor of weight regain in weight-reduced obese individuals. This raises the possibility that the amount of weight loss could be directly related to the increase in hunger and desire to eat that is known to happen with weight loss (Doucet et al., 2000). However, to the best of our knowledge, this relationship has never been quantified.

The impact of weight loss on appetite sensations may also become a methodological concern regarding the study of functional foods. Indeed, in the context of a weight-reducing program, the major challenge of a dietary regimen based on functional foods (Poortvliet et al., 2007) is to minimise the increase in hunger while inducing a caloric deficit. In order to isolate the effect of the satiating agent, the relationship between body weight changes and those in appetite sensations has to be known. Thus, the present study aims at verifying that: (1) a weight-reducing program induces a significant increase in motivation to eat and (2) there is a significant relationship between changes in body composition and changes in some appetite sensations in response to weight loss.

Section snippets

Subjects

Fifty-four overweight/obese women were involved in the placebo group of three different weight-reducing projects at Laval University (Quebec). They were non-menopausal, aged from 20 to 50 years, presented a stable body weight and a body mass index (BMI) from 26 to 42 kg/m2, and did not take any medication or dietary supplement. They were non-smokers, sedentary, and consumed less than five cups of coffee/day and less than nine alcohol drinks/week. They all received the same dietary instructions

Results

Body weight, BMI, and body fat (kg and %) were significantly decreased after the program (Table 1). The increase in fasting desire to eat in response to the program was close to reach significance. Likewise, the SQ for desire to eat was the only significant change among the SQ and AUC values. Moreover, correlation analysis between baseline appetite sensation markers and changes in body composition showed a significant negative relationship between baseline rating for desire to eat and changes

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first study that quantitatively describes the relationship between changes in appetite sensations and those in body composition in response to a calorie-restricted program. Specifically, for each kg of fat lost, and independently of their initial body weight, women experienced an increase in fasting desire to eat of 5.8 mm in their rating on 150 mm VAS. Their fullness feeling at fast was also affected and, for the same amount of fat lost, their score on VAS decreased

References (22)

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