Opioids, Sweets and a Mechanism for Positive Affect: Broad Motivational Implications. In: Dobbing J, editor. Sweetness. London: Springer; 1987. pp. 115-26. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4471-1429-1_8]

Plenary Lecture

Taste preferences, food choices and eating habits all change with age. The transition from childhood to adolescence and adult life is associated with reduced sweet taste preferences, lower sugars consumption and reduced energy density of the diet. Ageing is associated with elevated acceptance of bitter tastes, elevated preferences for vegetables and salad greens, and increased consumption of whole grains, vegetables and fruit. The age-associated drop in energy intakes is achieved through a reduction in the weight and volume of food consumed, as well as a reduction in the overall energy density of the diet. Energy density drops from a peak of 5 kJ (1.2 kcal)/g in adolescence and early adult life to a low of 3.1 kJ (0.75 kcal)/g for adult women aged 45–54 years. Older adults, particularly women, consume less fat and saturated fat and more fibre and vitamin C, suggesting a shift in consumption from snacks, sweets and desserts towards grains, vegetables and fruit. These changes in food preferences and eating habits are associated, on a population level, with a decline in preferences for sweet taste and with increased acceptance of bitter tastes. At present there are no data to show a causal relationship between age-related changes in sensory function and the selection of a more bulky energy-dilute diet. However, it is a plausible hypothesis that sensory factors mediate adjustments in energy density of foods at different life stages.

Emotionsbedingtes Essverhalten: Die Bedeutung der Emotionen

Zusammenfassung. Wirkungen von Emotionen auf das Essverhalten variieren in Abhängigkeit von Person- und Emotionsmerkmalen. Bisherige Untersuchungen waren größtenteils auf den Einfluss von Personmerkmalen gerichtet. Sie zeigten, dass ein gezügelter sowie ein emotionaler Ess-Stil zu gesteigerter Nahrungsaufnahme bei negativen Emotionen prädisponieren. Weitere Untersuchungen verweisen auf den Einfluss von Emotionsmerkmalen wie Intensität und Valenz. Der vorliegende Beitrag fasst den Forschungsstand zusammen und unterteilt die Wirkungen von Emotionen auf das Essverhalten in fünf Varianten, die sich durch definierte Person- und Emotionsmerkmale vorhersagen lassen: emotionale Steuerung der Nahrungswahl, emotionale Hemmung des Essverhaltens, emotionale Enthemmung gezügelten Essverhaltens, emotional-instrumentelles Essverhalten und emotionkongruente Modulation des Essverhaltens.

Regional tongue sensitivity for sweetness and pungency of ethanol-aspartame mixtures

Binary mixtures of aspartame prepared at three levels of concentration and dissolved in four ethanolic dilutions were perceptually evaluated. Sweet-pungent combinations were presented in solution or in disks of filter paper (paper) soaked in the solutions. Variations in sweetness and pungency were examined at two oral loci including the tip and the back plus the front of the tongue in the liquid condition or the tip and the back of the tongue in the paper condition. A similar behavior was observed in liquid and paper conditions; as the concentration of aspartame and ethanol increased so did the intensity for sweet and pungent qualities. Whereas sweetness was not influenced by ethanol addition (2-8% V/V), a suppressive effect of aspartame (1-4 mM) on pungency was noted for liquid but not for the paper condition. Sweetness was enhanced when the back plus the front of the tongue was stimulated by solutions. Finally, there was a complex pattern of regional effects on the perceived pungency of alcoholic-sweet solutions that was not replicated in the paper condition.

Diet and opiate addiction: a quantitative assessment of the diet of non-institutionalized opiate addicts

The diet, weight and height of 38 non-institutionalized chronic opiate addicts have been assessed and compared to those of a random sample of the 20-35 year old general population of Canton Geneva, Switzerland. A history questionnaire was administered by specially trained dietitians. Results show that, after adjustment for age and alcohol intake, male addicts have the same caloric intake as non-addicts. However, addicts tend to replace foods that are rich in fat and proteins with foods rich in sucrose and relatively poor in vitamins and minerals. Beer is the major component of their much larger alcohol consumption. On the other hand, the body mass index (kg/m2) of the male addicts is within the normal range, suggesting this may not be a good indicator of their unbalanced diet. This study gives a quantitative assessment, in terms of nutrient intake, of the typical craving for sweet described by opiate addicts.