This large study refines our understanding of depression and QoL in PCOS and demonstrates the need to regularly review the psychological health of women with PCOS.

Objective: Even brief exposure to the sight and smell of food has been shown to increase reported appetite, initiate 'cephalic phase responses,' and increase planned and actual consumption. This experiment tested the hypothesis that overweight individuals are especially sensitive to these established effects of food-cue exposure. Design: Overweight (n ¼ 52) and normal-weight (n ¼ 52) participants were exposed to the sight and smell of a 'cued' food (pizza) for 60 s. Before and after this period, we assessed salivation, prospective (planned) portion size, and desire to eat pizza and other 'non-cued' foods. Participants were then offered ad libitum access to pizza. Results: Consistent with previous studies, food-cue exposure increased rated hunger and desire to eat, increased prospective portion size of all savory foods, and increased salivation. In overweight individuals, cue exposure (i) elicited a significantly greater salivary response and, (ii) evoked a significantly greater increase in desire to eat both the cued food and another non-cued food. Conclusion: After cue exposure, overweight individuals experience a greater motivation to consume food but do not desire or consume greater amounts of food. These findings are consistent with evidence that snacking and meal variability predict weight gain and they expose 'cue reactiveness' as a potential predisposing factor for overweight.

Previously, expected satiety (ES) has been measured using software and two-dimensional pictures presented on a computer screen. In this context, ES is an excellent predictor of self-selected portions, when quantified using similar images and similar software. In the present study we sought to establish the veracity of ES as a predictor of behaviours associated with real foods. Participants (N=30) used computer software to assess their ES and ideal portion of three familiar foods. A real bowl of one food (pasta and sauce) was then presented and participants self-selected an ideal portion size. They then consumed the portion ad libitum. Additional measures of appetite, expected and actual liking, novelty, and reward, were also taken. Importantly, our screen-based measures of expected satiety and ideal portion size were both significantly related to intake (p<.05). By contrast, measures of liking were relatively poor predictors (p>.05). In addition, consistent with previous studies, the majority (90%) of participants engaged in plate cleaning. Of these, 29.6% consumed more when prompted by the experimenter. Together, these findings further validate the use of screen-based measures to explore determinants of portion-size selection and energy intake in humans.

Psychological and neurobiological evidence implicates hippocampal-dependent memory processes in the control of hunger and food intake. In humans, these have been revealed in the hyperphagia that is associated with amnesia. However, it remains unclear whether ‘memory for recent eating’ plays a significant role in neurologically intact humans. In this study we isolated the extent to which memory for a recently consumed meal influences hunger and fullness over a three-hour period. Before lunch, half of our volunteers were shown 300 ml of soup and half were shown 500 ml. Orthogonal to this, half consumed 300 ml and half consumed 500 ml. This process yielded four separate groups (25 volunteers in each). Independent manipulation of the ‘actual’ and ‘perceived’ soup portion was achieved using a computer-controlled peristaltic pump. This was designed to either refill or draw soup from a soup bowl in a covert manner. Immediately after lunch, self-reported hunger was influenced by the actual and not the perceived amount of soup consumed. However, two and three hours after meal termination this pattern was reversed - hunger was predicted by the perceived amount and not the actual amount. Participants who thought they had consumed the larger 500-ml portion reported significantly less hunger. This was also associated with an increase in the ‘expected satiation’ of the soup 24-hours later. For the first time, this manipulation exposes the independent and important contribution of memory processes to satiety. Opportunities exist to capitalise on this finding to reduce energy intake in humans.

No abstract