Sub-clinical binge eating tendency associated with increased BMI, weakened satiety response, increased liking for high-fat sweet food and enhanced explicit but not implicit wanting for food.

Abstract

Tendency to binge eat is a known risk factor for weight gain and obesity. The present study examined hedonic and homeostatic processes of appetite regulation in normal weight women with a range of binge eating scores. Thirty-five subjects (24.1±1.0 years, BMI: 21.9±0.5 kg/m2) completed the Binge Eating Scale (BES), Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), Food Craving Scale (FCS) and attended two test-meal sessions comprising a fixed preload followed by an ad libitum buffet. Energy intake, food selection, subjective sensations of appetite and hedonic response were measured. Novel procedures to measure food liking, wanting and preference (Finlayson et al. 2007) were employed. BES scores correlated with BMI (p<0.05), TFEQ-disinhibition (p<0.01) and hunger (p<0.01), and FCS items relating to impaired ability to resist cravings (p<0.05) and loss of control over eating (p<0.05). On comparison of low (<7; N=12) and high (>10; N=12) tertile scores on the BES, higher scores were associated with differences in sensory perception, greater preference for high-fat sweet foods (p<0.05), stronger sensations of hunger post-preload (p<0.01), and increased ad libitum intake of high-fat sweet foods (p<0.01). Higher scores were linked to enhanced explicit wanting for food which persisted after consumption of the preloads (p<0.01). No differences in implicit wanting were found. Within a group of young women with normal BMI, BES scores had the capacity to differentiate high and low BMI plus a range of appetite responses related to motivation to eat, food preference and tendency to overconsume. BES scores could be a useful predictor of weight gain and later obesity. MRC(CASE)#G78/8223 in conjunction with NRC, Lausanne; and INAP-G, Paris.