Diet induced weight loss accelerates onset of negative alliesthesia in obese women

Abstract

Background: The physiological and behavioral responses to hypocaloric diet are to increase energy intake to defend a steady body weight. We utilized the method of "negative alliesthesia" for measuring the hedonic reponse to sweet stimulus before (Initial session) and 3 months after entering a weight loss program. The negative alliesthesia test is known by physiologists but few clinical data exist. It is based on the observation that repeated pleasant gustatory stimuli turn into unpleasantness in the process of alliesthesia. At first visit participants repeatedly ingested sweet stimuli until they found them unpleasant and rated quantitatively on a linear analogue scale their hedonic experience. This procedure was repeated every 3 min until participants felt displeasure to end the session. The same protocol was followed after three months of following a weight loss diet. Dieting energy intake was from 1400 -2000 kcal/d for 8 wk. Energy composition was 50% carb:25% prot: 25% lipid. After 8 wk caloric intake increased by 50 kcal/wk, to reach daily intake of 1800 -2400 kcal/d. Energy composition was 50% carb:22% prot: 27% lipid. We report results on the effect of slow weight loss on negative alliesthesia in ten obese female participants enrolled in a commercial diet program based on Canada's Food Guide (Mincavi ® ).

High intake of palatable food predicts binge-eating independent of susceptibility to obesity: an animal model of lean vs obese binge-eating and obesity with and without binge-eating

“…Follow up studies targeting these possibilities would be clinically valuable because there is no difference between the macronutrient composition of binges and meals in healthy individuals 53,54 and as negative alliesthesia has not been explored in binge-eating studies and only scarcely in obesity studies. 55 Another important finding in this study is that BEP/BER classification, or differential amount of PF intake, did not predict DIO proneness or resistance (DIR). In fact, DIO and DIR status was equally represented in each BEP/BER group.…”

Sensory-specific satiety with simple foods in humans: no influence of BMI?

“…39 When obese subjects were at their own set-point (i.e. stability in body weight, absence of eating restriction or eating disorders, 'normal' intake and energy balance, and no pathology nor pharmacological treatments interfering with energy balance), hunger sensation 20,24,40 and negative alimentary alliesthesia 22,35 did not differ from that of lean subjects. Similarly for sensory-specific satiety, no significant differences were observed between lean and obese subjects when unrestricted.…”

“…Blundell and Hill,21 investigating the intensity of pleasure for sweet solutions and subjective motivations related to eating in both lean and obese subjects, found that negative alimentary alliesthesia was present in lean but not in obese subjects. In contrast, Frankham et al 22 showed that alimentary alliesthesia was present in obese subjects. Evans and Foltin 23 reported results suggesting that obese women have reduced sensory-specific satiety both with food eaten and with food only tasted.…”

“…Yet, some 'uncompensated factors' not influenced by intake 28,29 or a change in bodyweight set-point in the long term cannot be fully excluded. 22,30,31 To illustrate regulatory set-point, when obese subjects were below their individual set-point (e.g. during food limitation), weight reduction was associated with higher hunger scores (e.g.…”

Sweetness and Food Preference

“…Ingestion of sweet-tasting products induces “sensory-specific satiety,” a general decrease in the attractiveness of all sweet products (79). In addition, intake of a sugar-containing food or drink induces negative “alliesthesia,” a decrease in pleasantness due to the metabolic effects of sugars (80). Longer term changes in the nutritional and hormonal status of the body, such as what happens in weight loss, may also influence the palatability of sweet products.…”