Variety, Palatability, and Obesity

Abstract

Among the key characteristics of the Western obesogenic food environment is a highly palatable and varied food supply. Laboratory investigations of eating behavior in both humans and animals established key roles for palatability and variety in stimulating appetite, delaying satiety, and promoting excessive energy intake. There is a robust effect of food palatability and variety on short-term food intake, and increased variety and palatability also cause weight gain in animal models. However, laboratory paradigms do not replicate the complexities of eating in a natural setting, and there is a shortage of evidence to estimate the magnitude of effects on weight in humans. There are substantial individual differences in susceptibility to the palatability effect and this may be a key determinant in individual vulnerability to weight gain. The understanding of pathways through which palatability and variety can affect eating is advancing, and epidemiologic and intervention studies are needed to translate laboratory findings into applications in public health or clinical domains, and to establish whether there is a role for greater regulation of the food environment in tackling increases in obesity.

Development of a six-factor questionnaire for use in weight management counseling

“…Two major themes of this factor are environmental cueing of food intake and the hedonic reward of particular foods. Availability of large portion sizes [29], variety and palatability [30] lead to greater caloric intake. In addition, higher relative reinforcing value of food, an index of the motivation to eat, is associated with greater BMI and energy intake [31].…”

Individual differences in the interoceptive states of hunger, fullness and thirst

“…For sensory specific satiety, two recent reviews have concluded that there are few individual differences in general, nor are there specific effects relating to weight or gender, although affective changes may be more muted with age (see Johnson & Wardle, 2014;Remick, Polivy, & Pliner, 2009). For alliesthesia, while there is clear variability in the extent to which this is shown (see Cabanac, 1971), it is not known whether this is a consequence of measurement error or reflective of individual differences.…”

“…For example, when visual cues to the amount of food eaten are manipulated, average fullness ratings are the same as for participants who have eaten a visually identical but physically smaller quantity of food (Wansink et al, 2005). Variety is a particularly important influence on consumption (Johnson & Wardle, 2014). As one food is consumed, liking for that food wanes e sensory specific satiety (Rolls et al, 1981) and this is an important psychological contributor to meal termination (Hetherington, 1996).…”

“…It may be that hedonic responsiveness to food is an important contributor to what some people report as hunger or it may represent a more indirect influence on appetite. As its role in and relationship to hunger is somewhat uncertain it is not further detailed here and interested readers are directed to Johnson and Wardle (2014) review, which includes a description of individual differences in hedonic responsiveness to food.…”

Psychological and Neurobiological Correlates of Food Addiction

“…Over time, highly palatable foods may disrupt these appetite regulatory mechanisms (de Macedo et al, 2016; Johnson & Wardle, 2014) and promote hedonic eating (Lerma-Cabrera et al, 2016; Pandit, Mercer, Overduin, la Fleur, & Adan, 2012). Specifically, there is evidence that highly palatable foods can dampen satiety signals, thus leading to overeating.…”