Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T01:05:25.116Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of distraction on the development of satiety

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Jeffrey M. Brunstrom  and
Gemma L. Mitchell
Jeffrey M. Brunstrom*
Affiliation:
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK
Gemma L. Mitchell
Affiliation:
Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Jeff Brunstrom, fax +44 (0)117 928 8588, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Two experiments explored the hypothesis that distraction causes a reduced sensitivity to the physiological and sensory cues that signal when to terminate a meal. In Experiment 1, eighty-eight females ate five ‘Jaffa Cakes’ either while distracted by a computer game or while sitting in silence. Analysis of the difference in rated hunger, fullness and desire to eat (pre- to post-intake) revealed that distracted participants experienced smaller changes in their desire to eat and fullness than did non-distracted participants. Experiment 2 assessed whether changes in ratings are attenuated because sensory-specific satiety (or a related process) fails to develop. Using a similar procedure, eighty-four females provided desire to eat, pleasantness and intensity ratings for Jaffa Cakes and for two ‘uneaten’ foods, both before and at three time-points after consuming five Jaffa Cakes. Non-distracted participants reported a reduction in their desire to eat the eaten food relative to the uneaten food (food-specific satiety), whereas distracted participants maintained a desire to eat all foods. Moreover, this difference between distracted and non-distracted participants was evident 5 and 10 min after the eating episode had terminated. The present findings invite speculation that distraction attenuates the development of sensory-specific satiety, and that this effect persists (at least for a brief period) after the distractor has terminated. More generally, this kind of phenomenon warrants further scrutiny because it holds the potential to contribute towards overeating, either by prolonging an eating episode or by reducing the interval between meals.

Keywords

DistractionDesire to eatSensory-specific satietyDietary restraintAttentionDisinhibition
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 96 , Issue 4 , October 2006 , pp. 761 - 769
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Banasiak, SJ, Wertheim, EH, Koerner, J & Voudouris, NJ (2001) Test–retest reliability and internal consistency of a variety of measures of dietary restraint and body concerns in a sample of adolescent girls. Int J Eat Disord 29, 85–89.3.0.CO;2-G>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellisle, F & Dalix, AM (2001) Cognitive restraint can be offset by distraction, leading to increased meal intake in women. Am J Clin Nutr 74, 197–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellisle, F, Dalix, AM & Slama, G (2004) Non food-related environmental stimuli induce increased meal intake in healthy women: comparison of television viewing versus listening to a recorded story in laboratory settings. Appetite 43, 175–180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berridge, KC (1996) Food reward: brain substrates of wanting and liking. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 20, 1–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boon, B, Stroebe, W, Schut, H & Ijntema, R (2002) Ironic processes in the eating behaviour of restrained eaters. Br J Health Psychol 7, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Booth, DA (1981) How should questions about satiation be asked?. Appetite 2, 237–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Booth, DA (1994) Psychology of Nutrition, p. 67. London and Bristol, PA: Taylor & FrancisGoogle Scholar
Brandenberger, G, Follenius, M, Wittersheim, G, Salame, P, Simeoni, M & Reinhardt, B (1980) Plasma-catecholamines and pituitary-adrenal hormones related to mental task demand under quiet and noise conditions. Biol Psychol 10, 239–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Castro, JM (1990) Social facilitation of duration and size but not rate of the spontaneous meal intake of humans. Physiol Behav 47, 1129–1135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Castro, JM (1994) Family and friends produce greater social facilitation of food-intake than other companions. Physiol Behav 56, 445–455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Castro, JM & Brewer, EM (1992) The amount eaten in meals by humans is a power function of the number of people present. Physiol Behav 51, 121–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Epel, E, Lapidus, R, McEwen, B & Brownell, K (2001) Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology 26, 37–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Epstein, LH, Mitchell, SL & Caggiula, AR (1993) The effect of subjective and physiological arousal on dishabituation of salivation. Physiol Behav 53, 593–597.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Epstein, LH, Paluch, R, Smith, JD & Sayette, M (1997) Allocation of attentional resources during habituation to food cues. Psychophysiology 34, 59–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Epstein, LH, Saad, FG, Giacomelli, AM & Roemmich, JN (2005) Effects of allocation of attention on habituation to olfactory and visual food stimuli in children. Physiol Behav 84, 313–319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gluck, ME, Geliebter, A, Hung, J & Yahav, E (2004) Cortisol, hunger, and desire to binge eat following a cold stress test in obese women with binge eating disorder. Psychosom Med 66, 876–881.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, MW & Rogers, PJ (1995) Impaired cognitive-functioning during spontaneous dieting. Psychol Med 25, 1003–1010.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hancox, RJ & Poulton, R (2006) Watching television is associated with childhood obesity: but is it clinically important?. Int J Obes 30, 171–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heatherton, TF, Herman, CP, Polivy, J, King, GA & McGree, ST (1988) The (mis)measurement of restraint - an analysis of conceptual and psychometric issues. J Abnorm Psychol 97, 19–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herman, CP, Ostovich, JM & Polivy, J (1999) Effects of attentional focus on subjective hunger ratings. Appetite 33, 181–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hetherington, MM (1996) Sensory-specific satiety and its importance in meal termination. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 20, 113–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hetherington, MM & Rolls, BJ (1996) Sensory-specific satiety: theoretical frameworks and central characteristics. Why We Eat What We Eat, pp. 267–290 [Capaldi, ED, editor]. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holl, R, Fehm, HL, Voigt, KH & Teller, W (1984) The midday surge in plasma-cortisol induced by mental stress. Horm Metab Res 16, 158–159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, J & Vickers, Z (1993) Effects of flavor and macronutrient composition of food servings on liking, hunger and subsequent intake. Appetite 21, 25–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koo-Loeb, JH, Costello, N, Light, KC & Girdler, SS (2000) Women with eating disorder tendencies display altered cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and psychosocial profiles. Psychosom Med 62, 539–548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kramer, FM, Rock, K & Engell, D (1992) Effects of time of day and appropriateness on food-intake and hedonic ratings at morning and midday. Appetite 18, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levitsky, DA (2005) The non-regulation of food intake in humans: hope for reversing the epidemic of obesity. Physiol Behav 86, 623–632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lowe, MR & Kral, TVE (2006) Stress-induced eating in restrained eaters may not be caused by stress or restraint. Appetite 46, 16–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mann, T & Ward, A (2004) To eat or not to eat: implications of the attentional myopia model for restrained eaters. J Abnorm Psychol 113, 90–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mitchell, GL & Brunstrom, JM (2005) Everyday dietary behaviour and the relationship between attention and meal size. Appetite 45, 344–355.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ (1986) Sensory-specific satiety. Nutr Rev 44, 93–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ, Hetherington, M & Burley, VJ (1988) Sensory stimulation and energy density in the development of satiety. Physiol Behav 44, 727–733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shapiro, JR & Anderson, DA (2005) Counterregulatory eating behavior in multiple item test meals. Eat Behav 6, 169–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, GP (1996) The direct and indirect controls of meal size. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 20, 41–46.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stroebele, N & de Castro, JM (2004) Television viewing is associated with an increase in meal frequency in humans. Appetite 42, 111–113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stunkard, AJ & Messick, S (1985) The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger. J Psychosom Res 29, 71–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tuomisto, T, Tuomisto, MT, Hetherington, M & Lappalainen, R (1998) Reasons for initiation and cessation of eating in obese men and women and the affective consequences of eating in everyday situations. Appetite 30, 211–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Strien, T, Frijters, JER, Vanstaveren, WA, Defares, PB & Deurenberg, P (1986) The predictive-validity of the Dutch Restrained Eating Scale. Int J Eat Disord 5, 747–755.3.0.CO;2-6>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wansink, B & Park, SB (2001) At the movies: how external cues and perceived taste impact consumption volume. Food Qual Pref 12, 69–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, A & Mann, T (2000) Don't mind if I do: disinhibited eating under cognitive load. J Pers Soc Psychol 78, 753–763.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weenen, H, Stafleu, A, de Graaf, C (2005) Dynamic aspects of liking: post-prandial persistence of sensory specific satiety. Food Qual Pref 16, 528–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westenhoefer, J, Broeckmann, P, Munch, AK & Pudel, V (1994) Cognitive control of eating behavior and the disinhibition effect. Appetite 23, 27–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wisniewski, L, Epstein, LH & Caggiula, AR (1992) Effect of food change on consumption, hedonics, and salivation. Physiol Behav 52, 21–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed