Early experience with sensory properties of food and caloric consequences: Implications for food intake and body weight regulation

Alicia Marie Doerflinger, Purdue University

Abstract

The homeostatic regulation of food intake is one of the most pressing challenges to an organism. Certain foods may, unpredictably, provide either an overabundance or a deficit of energy and nutrients. The present series of experiments examines the influence of associations between taste stimuli and nutritive or nonnutritive consequences on food intake and body weight regulation following both short- and long-term exposure to such diets. The first set of experiments examines whether consuming artificial sweeteners impairs caloric regulation. The ability of the animals to compensate for the calories contained in sweet-tasting foods is predicted to be impaired following experience with diets in which sweet tastes inconsistently predicted the caloric value of the diet compared to the animals that received food that were always sweet tasting and always had associated caloric consequences. Results suggest that animals given experience with nutritive sweeteners (glucose and sucrose) sometimes and non-nutritive sweeteners (saccharin) sometimes are less able to regulate food intake following a preload challenge during a 24-h intake test compared to animals that always receive the sweet, nutritive diet. The long-term effects of training with stable sweet-calorie relationships versus unstable sweet-calorie relationships on body fat composition was also examined using Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). The second set of experiments examines the effects of consuming artificial fats on food intake and body weight regulation. The ability of the animals to compensate for the calories contained in fat-tasting food is predicted to be impaired following experience with diets in which fat tastes inconsistently predicted the caloric value of the diet, as compared to the animals that received foods that were always fat tasting and always had the associated caloric consequences. Results suggest that animals given experience with high fat, high calorie foods sometimes and low fat, low calorie foods sometimes are less able to regulate food intake following a preload challenge during a 24-h intake test compared to animals that always receive the high-fat, high-calorie diet. The long-term effects of training with stable fat-calorie relationships versus unstable fat-calorie relationships on body fat composition were also examined using DXA.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Swithers, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Psychobiology|Physiological psychology

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