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Food Craving, Appetite and Weight Gain

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 July 2021) | Viewed by 15251

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institution of Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK
Interests: appetite; energy balance; weight loss; metabolism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

External cues can elicit an intense and potent desire to eat particular foods. Such a response, known as “craving”, resulting from the sight, smell or thought of highly-palatable and usually energy-dense foods, can override homeostatic mechanisms of appetite control, leading to overconsumption, energy surplus, and weight gain. Though once evolutionarily beneficial to override feelings of satiety at times of food scarcity, managing cravings in modern environments with a plentiful food supply and an abundance of food cues poses a challenge to achieving a healthy weight.

While cravings are accepted as conditioned responses to food cues, resulting in increased arousal and alterations in brain activity associated with an increased drive to consume food, the direct effects of craving on eating behavior and subsequent weight status are inconsistent, with large individual variability. The interplay between neural response to food cues and endocrine responses to energy availability and nutrient delivery to the gut could explain such inconsistency and variability.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to disseminate novel research to further enhance our understanding of the effect of food cravings on energy balance and weight gain, with consideration of individual variability in responses to cravings, and the interplay between craving and sensations of hunger and satiety.

Dr. Adrian Holliday
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Cravings
  • Appetite
  • Food cues
  • Weight loss
  • Weight gain
  • Hedonics
  • Energy balance
  • Obesity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1408 KiB  
Article
Food Liking but Not Wanting Decreases after Controlled Intermittent or Continuous Energy Restriction to ≥5% Weight Loss in Women with Overweight/Obesity
by Pauline Oustric, Kristine Beaulieu, Nuno Casanova, Dominic O’Connor, Catherine Gibbons, Mark Hopkins, John Blundell and Graham Finlayson
Nutrients 2021, 13(1), 182; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13010182 - 09 Jan 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3410
Abstract
Food reward (i.e., liking and wanting) has been shown to decrease after different types of weight management interventions. However, it is unknown whether specific dietary modalities (continuous (CER) vs. intermittent (IER) energy restriction) have differing effects on liking and implicit wanting after weight [...] Read more.
Food reward (i.e., liking and wanting) has been shown to decrease after different types of weight management interventions. However, it is unknown whether specific dietary modalities (continuous (CER) vs. intermittent (IER) energy restriction) have differing effects on liking and implicit wanting after weight loss (WL) and whether these changes are sustained after 1-year of no-contact. Women with overweight or obesity (age 18–55 years) were randomly allocated to controlled-feeding CER (25% daily energy restriction) or IER (alternating ad libitum and 75% energy restriction days). Study visits were conducted at baseline, post-WL (to ≥5% WL within 12 weeks) and 1-year post-WL. The main outcomes were liking and implicit wanting for 4 categories of common food varying in fat and taste assessed by the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire. Linear mixed models were conducted on the 30 participants achieving ≥5% WL and 15 returners. After an initial WL of −5.1 ± 0.2 kg, after 1-year 2.6 ± 0.5 kg were regained. Liking but not wanting decreased after WL. Food reward after 1-year did not differ from baseline, but the high loss to follow-up prevents generalization. IER and CER did not differ in their effects on food reward during WL or at 1-year follow-up. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Craving, Appetite and Weight Gain)
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17 pages, 1870 KiB  
Article
Effects of Consuming Sugar-Sweetened Beverages for 2 Weeks on 24-h Circulating Leptin Profiles, Ad Libitum Food Intake and Body Weight in Young Adults
by Desiree M. Sigala, Adrianne M. Widaman, Bettina Hieronimus, Marinelle V. Nunez, Vivien Lee, Yanet Benyam, Andrew A. Bremer, Valentina Medici, Peter J. Havel, Kimber L. Stanhope and Nancy L. Keim
Nutrients 2020, 12(12), 3893; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu12123893 - 19 Dec 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4661
Abstract
Sugar-sweetened beverage (sugar-SB) consumption is associated with body weight gain. We investigated whether the changes of (Δ) circulating leptin contribute to weight gain and ad libitum food intake in young adults consuming sugar-SB for two weeks. In a parallel, double-blinded, intervention study, participants [...] Read more.
Sugar-sweetened beverage (sugar-SB) consumption is associated with body weight gain. We investigated whether the changes of (Δ) circulating leptin contribute to weight gain and ad libitum food intake in young adults consuming sugar-SB for two weeks. In a parallel, double-blinded, intervention study, participants (n = 131; BMI 18–35 kg/m2; 18–40 years) consumed three beverages/day containing aspartame or 25% energy requirement as glucose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or sucrose (n = 23–28/group). Body weight, ad libitum food intake and 24-h leptin area under the curve (AUC) were assessed at Week 0 and at the end of Week 2. The Δbody weight was not different among groups (p = 0.092), but the increases in subjects consuming HFCS- (p = 0.0008) and glucose-SB (p = 0.018) were significant compared with Week 0. Subjects consuming sucrose- (+14%, p < 0.0015), fructose- (+9%, p = 0.015) and HFCS-SB (+8%, p = 0.017) increased energy intake during the ad libitum food intake trial compared with subjects consuming aspartame-SB (−4%, p = 0.0037, effect of SB). Fructose-SB decreased (−14 ng/mL × 24 h, p = 0.0006) and sucrose-SB increased (+25 ng/mL × 24 h, p = 0.025 vs. Week 0; p = 0.0008 vs. fructose-SB) 24-h leptin AUC. The Δad libitum food intake and Δbody weight were not influenced by circulating leptin in young adults consuming sugar-SB for 2 weeks. Studies are needed to determine the mechanisms mediating increased energy intake in subjects consuming sugar-SB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Craving, Appetite and Weight Gain)
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Review

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24 pages, 1144 KiB  
Review
What Role Does the Endocannabinoid System Play in the Pathogenesis of Obesity?
by Piotr Schulz, Szymon Hryhorowicz, Anna Maria Rychter, Agnieszka Zawada, Ryszard Słomski, Agnieszka Dobrowolska and Iwona Krela-Kaźmierczak
Nutrients 2021, 13(2), 373; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13020373 - 26 Jan 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6288
Abstract
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signaling system formed by specific receptors (cannabinoid type 1 and type 2 (CB1 and CB2)), their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids), and enzymes involved in their synthesis and degradation. The ECS, centrally and peripherally, is [...] Read more.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signaling system formed by specific receptors (cannabinoid type 1 and type 2 (CB1 and CB2)), their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids), and enzymes involved in their synthesis and degradation. The ECS, centrally and peripherally, is involved in various physiological processes, including regulation of energy balance, promotion of metabolic process, food intake, weight gain, promotion of fat accumulation in adipocytes, and regulation of body homeostasis; thus, its overactivity may be related to obesity. In this review, we try to explain the role of the ECS and the impact of genetic factors on endocannabinoid system modulation in the pathogenesis of obesity, which is a global and civilizational problem affecting the entire world population regardless of age. We also emphasize that the search for potential new targets for health assessment, treatment, and the development of possible therapies in obesity is of great importance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Craving, Appetite and Weight Gain)
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