Hedonic Hunger Is Associated with Intake of Certain High-Fat Food Types and BMI in 20- to 40-Year-Old Adults

Body mass index and social media addiction as predictors of hedonic hunger in adolescents

This study was planned to determine the relationship between hedonic hunger, social media addiction and body mass index (BMI) in adolescents. The study was conducted with 720 adolescents receiving education in high schools. Data was collected online using the Children's Power of Food Scale (CPFS) and Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS). Mean, percentage, t-test, ANOVA and regression analysis were used to analyse data. In the study, it was found that social media addiction explained 16.4% of the variance in hedonic hunger and had a significant impact (F = 140.433, p ≤ 0.001). When the BMI variable was added to the model in the second step (Model II), it was determined that social media addiction and BMI significantly predicted CPFS scores (F = 81.839, p ≤ 0.001) and explained 18.6% of the variance. The study results revealed that social media addiction and BMI significantly predict hedonic hunger in adolescents.

The interplay between sleep quality, hedonic hunger, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet among early adolescents

AIM

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sleep quality, hedonic hunger, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) in early adolescents and to investigate if hedonic hunger would mediate the influence of sleep quality on adherence to the MD.

METHOD

A total of 786 middle school students (boys, 51%) aged 10-14 years were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Hedonic hunger was assessed with the "Food Power Scale", sleep quality was evaluated with the "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)", and adherence to the MD was assessed with the "Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED)". Anthropometric measurements were performed. Dietary intake was evaluated with a 24-h food consumption record.

RESULTS

Of the adolescents, 63.4% exhibited poor sleep quality, 59.2% had a moderate adherence score to MD, and 31.7% were classified as short sleepers. Adolescents with high hedonic hunger had significantly higher carbohydrates, but lower protein, and fruits. Adolescents with poor sleep quality and short sleep duration showed a lower proportion of daily fruit or fruit juice intake, dairy products for breakfast, daily yogurts and cheese intake, and a higher proportion of sweets or candy. PSQI significantly predicted hedonic hunger (β = 0.13) and KIDMED (β = -0.15). Hedonic hunger significantly predicted KIDMED (β = -0.122; p = 0.005). Adolescents with short sleep duration (OR = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.21-2.39) were more likely to have obesity/overweight.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study showed that higher hedonic hunger, lower sleep quality, and short duration are important factors associated with low adherence to the MD in early adolescence. It also showed that hedonic hunger mediates between sleep quality and adherence to the MD. Additionally, short sleep duration increased the risks of obesity in early adolescents.

Differential exposure to palatable food and its effects on binge-like eating behavior in adolescent rats

Introduction

Consumption of palatable food (PF) can lead to chronic overconsumption and obesity. Furthermore, adolescents may be vulnerable to excessively reinforcing foods, which increases the probability of developing overweight and obesity in adulthood. The role of PF availability in binge-like intake among adolescents without caloric needs remains unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate which PF access protocol is the most sensitive to induce increased caloric intake and binge-like eating during adolescence.

Methods

We used 24 male Wistar rats [30 postnatal days (PND)]; standard food and water were provided ad libitum. Rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) continuous, daily access to PF; (b) intermittent, 1-day access/1-day no-access; or (c) weekend, 3 days-access/4 days no-access. All groups had 1 h access to PF (chocolate sandwich cookies). Access protocols were maintained for 6 weeks; afterward, rats underwent a 7-day withdrawal period, and were then evaluated on a binge-eating test.

Results

Chronic restricted PF access induces binge-like intake, with intermittent access resulting in the highest binge index. Additionally, caloric intake of PF increases over time during adolescence, with differential effects of intermittent and weekend access.

Conclusion

Chronic restricted access to PF during adolescence induces binge-like intake, with differences depending on PF availability. This can lead to chronic overconsumption under non-homeostatic conditions.

Association between hedonic hunger and body mass index in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hedonic hunger has been proposed as one of the important causes of obesity in recent years. In the present study, we systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed the relationship between hedonic hunger and body mass index (BMI) in healthy adults. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until January 19, 2023. All English-language original observational studies conducted on healthy adult subjects, which used the Power of Food Scale (PFS) to evaluate hedonic hunger were included. Quality assessment was done using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist, and StataMP-17 software was used for the meta-analysis. After screening, 25 observational studies with a total of 14457 participants were included. Twenty-four studies were cross-sectional, and one was a cohort study. Twenty-two studies examined both sexes, two studies were conducted only on women, and one study conducted analysis separately on men and women. The results of the meta-analysis showed a positive and significant association between hedonic hunger and BMI with a small effect size (r = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.18). In addition, a positive significant association was observed between subscales of PFS ("food available", "food present", and "food tasted") and BMI. The association between hedonic hunger and BMI was not affected by the results of meta-regression analysis of %female, mean age & BMI, and sample size. In conclusion, there was a positive significant association between hedonic hunger and BMI, but the effect size was weak. Considering the low quality of included studies, we need longitudinal design studies considering the association between these two variables as a primary outcome for a more accurate conclusion.

The relationship between hedonic hunger and self-stigmatisation in terms of weight and self-esteem in adult people living with obesity

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to determine the factors influencing the hedonic hunger status of overweight adults and to examine the relationship between hedonic hunger, self-stigmatisation and self-esteem in terms of weight.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 353 people living with obesity who applied to the Endocrine and Internal Medicine Clinic in Samsun, Turkey, between June and October 2022. The data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Power of Food Scale (PFS), Weight Self-Stigmatisation Questionnaire (WSSQ) and Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale (SLSC) through face-to-face survey method.

RESULTS

About 53.3% of the participants were ≥45 years old, 80.5% were married and 69.1% had previously followed weight loss diet. It was found that those who were aged <45 years, single, those who perceived themselves as overweight, those who had used weight loss diets before and those whose waist-hip ratio were normal had higher hedonic hunger scores (p < 0.05). A negative and significant correlation was found between PSF-Tr general dimension scores and SLSC general dimension, whereas a significant and positive correlation was observed between PSF-Tr general dimension scores and WSSQ general dimension (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

As hedonic hunger increased in adults with overweight, self-esteem decreased, and self-stigmatisation in terms of weight increased. Effective interventions are needed to cope with the hedonic hunger that contributes to obesity and to prevent the stigma and low self-esteem experienced by people living with obesity because of their excess weight.

Relationship of perceived depression, stress, anxiety levels and hedonic hunger

BACKGROUND

This study was designed to explore relationship of perceived depression, anxiety and stress (DAS) levels and hedonic hunger in adults.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey included questions about some socio-demographic characteristics, Power of Food Scale (PFS-Tr) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) was sent via an online platform. Self-reported weight and height were also questioned. A total of 4112 adult volunteers between the ages of 18-65 years participated in this study. 72.3% of them were female.

RESULTS

The prevalence of moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress was reported as 31%, 34% and 13% respectively. Hedonic hunger and perceived DAS levels were higher in females (p < 0.001). Hedonic hunger was positively correlated with perceived DAS (p < 0.001). While body mass index (BMI) was positively associated with PFS-Tr total score, food available and food present; negatively associated with food tasted. Body mass index was negatively correlated with perceived DAS. Hedonic hunger and perceived DAS levels decreased with increasing age. Females were more prone to both hedonic hunger and perceived DAS. About one in three participants reported moderate to extremely severe levels of depression and anxiety. Greater perceived DAS levels are associated with hedonic hunger. Underweight individuals had higher levels of perceived DAS.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the prevalence and predictors of perceived DAS levels and hedonic hunger in the Turkish adult population. The findings of the study suggest that the predictors such as age, sex and BMI are a part of psychological well-being and hedonic hunger.

Housing-temperature reveals energy intake counter-balances energy expenditure in normal-weight, but not diet-induced obese, male mice

Most metabolic studies on mice are performed at room temperature, although under these conditions mice, unlike humans, spend considerable energy to maintain core temperature. Here, we characterize the impact of housing temperature on energy expenditure (EE), energy homeostasis and plasma concentrations of appetite- and glucoregulatory hormones in normal-weight and diet-induced obese (DIO) C57BL/6J mice fed chow or 45% high-fat-diet, respectively. Mice were housed for 33 days at 22, 25, 27.5, and 30 °C in an indirect-calorimetry-system. We show that energy expenditure increases linearly from 30 °C towards 22 °C and is ~30% higher at 22 °C in both mouse models. In normal-weight mice, food intake counter-balances EE. In contrast, DIO mice do not reduce food intake when EE is lowered. By end of study, mice at 30 °C, therefore, had higher body weight, fat mass and plasma glycerol and triglycerides than mice at 22 °C. Dysregulated counterbalancing in DIO mice may result from increased pleasure-based eating.

The impact of ambient housing temperature on the interaction of energy intake, energy expenditure and glycemic control in normal and diet-induced obese mice is examined.