Abstract P202: Is There a Relationship Between the Psychological Influence of the Highly Palatable Food Environment and Weight Loss Attempts?

Abstract

Background: Research suggests that the degree of food desirability may have an impact on successful weight loss. Defined as susceptibility to eating when presented with environmental stimuli, hedonic hunger is related to increased food consumption. Individuals with higher hedonic hunger may be less able to successfully maintain weight loss and, therefore, may have more weight loss attempts (WLA). The purpose was to examine associations between the number of WLA and the PFS total scale and subscale scores, controlling for race, sex, BMI, and age. Methods: Participants were obese adults enrolled in Heads Up, an insurance-sponsored observational study examining surgical and non-surgical weight loss techniques. Individuals completed the Power of Food Scale (PFS) and demographic information, including the number of WLA. The PFS was developed to assess hedonic hunger when food is: 1) available, 2) present, and 3) tasted. Results: Of the 705 participants, 409 (57.8%) were Caucasian, 597 (84.3%) were female, and had attempted to lose weight 9.13 (SD=9.8) times. The number of WLA significantly predicted PFS total scores and subscale scores except for the “Food Tasted” subscale. The full linear regression models accounted for 4.7%, 4.1%, and 6.2% of the variance in the total PFS, Food Available subscale, and Food Present subscale scores, respectively. Conclusions: Results demonstrate that hedonic hunger may be a factor in repeated WLA. Future research should examine the temporal sequence to fully explain this relationship to provide additional tailoring of behavioral weight loss interventions to address hedonic hunger as a hindrance to successful weight maintenance.