Role of oral sensory signals in determining meal size in lean women

Objectives: Cognitive restraint exerts a limiting effect on food intake in lean individuals. Satiation is the process that determines meal size. Oral, gastric, intestinal, and postabsorptive signals might influence this process. I evaluated the roles of oral and gastric signals in determining meal size in lean women. Methods: Nine women ate cereal when they felt hungry under baseline and three treatment conditions: 1) eating until the pleasantness of the flavor of the cereal subsided, 2) eating until the stomach felt full, and 3) eating while watching television. The study was done in a normal living environment. The amounts of cereal consumed under the four conditions were measured. Results: Cereal consumption was similar to that of baseline when the volunteers relied on oral signals to terminate the act of eating. Cereal consumption was significantly higher than baseline when the volunteers ate until they felt full in the stomach and while watching television (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Recognition of oronasal sensory cues while eating could be the mechanism used by some lean women to limit meal size, and this effect can be offset by cognitive distraction.