Abstract
Compared to low-fat diets, low-carbohydrate (CHO) diets cause weight loss (WL) over a faster time frame; however, it is unknown how changes in food cravings and eating behavior contribute to this more rapid WL in the early phases of dieting. We hypothesized that reductions in food cravings and improved eating behaviors would be evident even after a relatively short (4-week) duration of CHO-restriction, and that these changes would be associated with WL. Adult participants (n = 19, 53% males, mean ± SD: BMI = 34.1 ± 0.8 kg/m2; age 40.6 ± 1.9 years) consumed a CHO-restricted diet (14% CHO, 58% fat, 28% protein) for 4 weeks. Before and after the intervention, specific and total cravings were measured with the Food Craving Inventory (FCI) and eating behaviors assessed with the Three-Factor Eating questionnaire. Food cravings were significantly reduced at week 4, while women had significantly greater reductions in sweet cravings than men. Dietary restraint was significantly increased by 102%, while disinhibiton and hunger scores were reduced (17% and 22%, respectively, p < 0.05). Changes in cravings were unrelated to changes in body weight except for the change in high-fat cravings where those who lost the most weight experienced the least reductions in fat cravings (r = −0.458, p = 0.049). Changes in dietary restraint were inversely related to several FCI subscales. A short-term, low-CHO diet was effective in reducing food cravings. These data suggest that in subjects that have successfully lost weight on a low-CHO diet, those who craved high-fat foods at the onset were able to satisfy their cravings—potentially due to the high-fat nature of this restricted diet.
Highlights
About 11% of the variance in eating behavior and weight gain can be explained by the experience of food cravings [1], which is generally defined as an intense desire to consume a particular kind of food that is difficult to resist [2,3]
We examined if there were any sex differences in food cravings and eating behavior
Baseline fasting insulin concentrations tended to be elevated (12.2 ± 1.2 mU/L) and fell 22% with weight loss (WL) (8.8 ± 0.6 mU/L, p = 0.003)
Summary
About 11% of the variance in eating behavior and weight gain can be explained by the experience of food cravings [1], which is generally defined as an intense desire to consume a particular kind of food that is difficult to resist [2,3]. With regard to dietary macronutrient content, of the three studies investigating low-CHO diet effects on food cravings, two reported reduced cravings [11,15], while one [5] reported increased cravings. The tool or scale used to measure food cravings was not well defined in that paper and the sample size was small (n = 4). It is unknown whether food cravings change in the first four weeks of CHO restriction, a time when the WL trajectory is the steepest [20,21]
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