Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Characterization of obese individuals who claim to detect no relationship between their eating pattern and sensations of hunger or fullness

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 435–439 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To study the phenomenon that obese subjects show considerable individual variability in their reported relationships between eating and sensations of hunger and fullness.

Design:

A laboratory study of the relationship between eating behaviour traits and the episodic oscillations in sensations of hunger and fullness in response to obligatory, fixed energy breakfast (481 kcal) and lunch (675 kcal) meals.

Subjects:

Obese subjects were divided into two groups based on their responses to four ‘screening’ questions associated with their habitual experience of hunger and fullness sensations before and after eating: those who experienced sensations of hunger and fullness related to eating (Related–R; n=20, body mass index (BMI)=42.4 kg/m2) and those for whom eating was not related to hunger or fullness sensations (Unrelated – UR; n=19, BMI=41.3 kg/m2). In addition, a control, lean group (Control – C; n=14, BMI=22.6 kg/m2) who experienced sensations of hunger and fullness related to eating was studied.

Measurements:

The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) was used to measure the eating behaviour traits, disinhibition, restraint and hunger. Profiles of subjective appetite sensations were continuously monitored across the day using visual analogue scales.

Results:

All groups displayed clear meal-related oscillations in subjective sensations of hunger, fullness, desire to eat and prospective consumption. In contrast, the TFEQ disinhibition and hunger scores (but not restraint scores) were significantly different (P<0.05) between the groups ((UR; D=13.5±0.5, H=10.0±0.5), R (D 7.5±0.6, H 6.1±0.4), C(D 3.7±0.5, H 3.7±0.5)). In addition, analysis of the intra-meal changes in subjective appetite sensations revealed that the UR group displayed a smaller meal-induced suppression of hunger and elevation of fullness.

Conclusion:

These data indicate that the reported relationship between eating and hunger/fullness was associated with obese individuals showing high or low disinhibition scores. In addition, the data suggest that the processes underlying disinhibition may be associated with a modulation of the recognition of meal-related satiety sensations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The actual questions were: 1. I start eating because I am hungry, 2. I never feel hunger before meals, 3. I stop eating because I feel full, 4. I never feel full during a meal despite eating very large meals.

References

  1. Swinburn B, Egger G, Raza F . Dissecting obesogenic environments: the development and application of a framework for identifying and prioritizing environmental interventions for obesity. Prev Med 1999; 29: 563–570.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Smith SR, Ravussin E . Genetic and physiological factors in obesity. J La State Med Soc 2005; 157: S12–18.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Stunkard AJ, Messick S . The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger. J Psychosom Res 1985; 29: 71–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rogers PJ, Blundell JE . Effect of anorexic drugs on food intake and the micro-structure of eating in human subjects. Psychopharmacology 1979; 66: 159–165.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Blundell JE, Rogers PJ, Hill AJ . Behavioural structure and mechanisms of anorexia: calibration of natural and abnormal inhibition of eating. Brain Res Bull 1985; 15: 371–376.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Karlsson J, Persson LO, Sjostrom L, Sullivan M . Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) in obese men and women. Results from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000; 24: 1715–1725.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hays NP, Bathalon GP, McCrory MA, Roubenoff R, Lipman R, Roberts SB . Eating behaviour correlates of adult weight gain and obesity in healthy women aged 55–65 y. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 75: 476–483.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dykes J, Brunner BJ, Martikainen PT, Wardle J . Socioeconomic gradient in body size and obesity among women: the role of dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger in the Whitehall II study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004; 28: 262–268.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Provencher V, Drapeau V, Tremblay A, Depres J-P, Lemieux S . Eating behaviors and indexes of body composition in men and women from the Quebec family study. Obes Res 2003; 11: 783–792.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Borg P, Fogelholm M, Kukkonen-Harjula K . Food selection and eating behaviour during weight maintenance intervention and 2-y follow up in obese men. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004; 28: 1548–1554.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Blundell JE, Stubbs RJ, Golding C, Croden F, Alam R, Whybrow S et al. Resistance and susceptibility to weight gain: individual variability in response to a high-fat diet. Physiol Behav 2005; 86: 614–622.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Steinle NI, Hsueh WC, Snitker S Pollin TI, Sakul H, St Jean PL, Bell CJ et al. Eating behavior in the Old Order Amish: heritability analysis and a genome-wide linkage analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 75: 1098–1106.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Boutin P, Froguel P . Genetics of human obesity. Best Prac Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001; 15: 391–404.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Bouchard L, Drapeau V, Provencher V, Lemieux S, Chagnon Y, Rice T et al. Neuromedin beta: a strong candidate gene linking eating behaviors and susceptibility to obesity. Am J Clin Nutr 2004; 80: 1478–1486.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, European Community grant QLK1-CT-2000-0051, the Swedish Medical Society, Funds of the Karolinska Institutet, the Professor Nanna Svartz Fund, the Åke Wiberg Fund, the Thuring Fund, the Magnus Bergvall Fund, the Tore Nilsson Fund, Jeansson's Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obesity Unit, Karolinska University Hospital – Huddinge, Karolinska Insitutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    B Barkeling

  2. Division of Surgery, Karolinska Institutet Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Insitutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    E Näslund

  3. Biopsychology group, Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    N A King & J E Blundell

Authors
  1. B Barkeling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N A King
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E Näslund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J E Blundell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E Näslund.

Additional information

Part of these data was presented at ECO May 2004, Prague and NAASO November 2004, Las Vegas.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Barkeling, B., King, N., Näslund, E. et al. Characterization of obese individuals who claim to detect no relationship between their eating pattern and sensations of hunger or fullness. Int J Obes 31, 435–439 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803449

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803449

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links