Effects of palatability on food, caloric, and macronutrient intake in a three-course meal. Tim Beckner, Michelle Bertling, Jai-Sheena Garnett, Allison Thomas, Kim Trimble

Overeating: A Growing Problem

Some Factors that Promote Overeating Wide variety of easily accessible, highly palatable, energy-dense foods Sensory Specific Satiety -Rolls 1980s (humans) -LeMagnen 1950s (rats) I’m full. BUT!!

Sensory Specific Satiety Research at Wofford College What is the palatability ranking? Sensory Specific Satiety Research at Wofford College - Stinnett et. al 2005 - Ross et. al 2004 - Henry et. al 2003 RC RC FL Meal Calories per gram Froot Loops (FL) 3.8 Funyuns (OR) 5.0 Rat Chow (RC) 3.3 RC FL RC OR

Purposes (1) To determine relative palatabilities of Rat Chow, Onion Rings and Froot Loops® (2) To determine if sequences of courses in a three-course meal affects food intake caloric intake

Hypotheses Expected palatability ranking: RC<OR<FL When offered 3 foods simultaneously, Rats will eat very little Rat Chow, Moderate amounts of Onion Rings, and Large quantities of Froot Loops. (2) Offering a sequence of courses in which palatability increases with each course will result in the highest consumption of food and caloric intake. Expected palatability ranking: RC<OR<FL

Methods: Cafeteria Experiment 21 Male Sprague-Dawley Rats 12 hour light/12 dark cycle, RC & H2O ad libitum except Experimental Day (18 hour food deprivation) Foods presented simultaneously Froot Loops Onion Rings Rat Chow 3 rats per week Counterbalanced over 7 weeks

Experimental Timeline Latency is the time from presentation of the food to first bite. End Experiment: Remove and weigh all foods Foods removed, weighed, and returned to cages Begin Experiment: Insert 3 foods 8:00 AM 8:10 8:20 8:30 8:40 8:50 9:00 9:10 9:20 9:30 18 hour food deprivation Two indices of palatability: 1) Latency to eat each food (minutes) 2) Intake of each food (grams) Foods removed, weighed, and returned to cages Statistical Tests: RM ANOVA and S-N-K Multiple Comparisons p<0.05

*p=0.003 *p<0.001 n.s. p=0.054

*p<0.001 n.s. p=0.391

Results of Cafeteria Experiment Palatability Hierarchy RC = OR < FL Next Experiment: 3 Course Meal Food Intake Effects of Palatability on Caloric Intake

Methods: Sequence Experiment 1st Course 2nd Course 3rd Course Sequence 1 RC OR FL Sequence 2 Sequence 3 Sequence 4 Sequence 5 Sequence 6 Counterbalanced over 7 weeks

Experimental Timeline Remove and weigh 2nd Course, Present 3rd Course Measure food intake 1st Course 2nd Course 3rd Course Present 1st Course 8:00 8:50 9:10 9:40 10:10 Remove and weigh 1st Course Present 2nd Course Remove and weigh 3rd Course 18 hr food Deprivation

Palatability Heirarchy: RC=OR<FL n.s.

3.3 Cal/gram 5.0 Cal/gram 3.8 Cal/gram

Hypotheses (1) When offered 3 foods, Froot Loops will be the most palatable, Rat Chow the least, and Onion Rings will have an intermediate palatability. (2) Offering a sequence of meals in which palatability increases with each meal will result in the greatest food and caloric intake. Supported Rejected

But Eureka! Course sequence does have an effect on the overall nutritional value of a multicourse meal.

Rats and Humans: Differences Humans don’t regulate food intake as effectively. Rats have very tight regulation of food intake.

Rats and Humans: Similarities Both show Sensory Specific Satiety Both tend to gorge on highly palatable foods.

Recall the Growing Problem of Overweight and Obesity Observation: Easy access to highly palatable, energy dense foods promotes overeating. Advice based on our research and understanding of SSS: Eating the most nutritious courses first allows one to become satiated such that one consumes smaller amounts of less nutritious foods.

Eating dessert first really does spoil your dinner.

Extra slides beyond this point

Who Cares?! Overweight and obese people. Portion control Nutritional Value

Further Application: NASA Increase in space exploration Astronauts spend more time in space Change in cephalic fluid Astronauts get sick and don’t eat enough Nutritional value

Changing course sequence in a meal can affect macronutrient intake BIG PICTURE! Changing course sequence in a meal can affect macronutrient intake

But make sure you eat it LAST!! Have your cake and eat it TOO!! But make sure you eat it LAST!!

which food is most palatable? Based on intake, which food is most palatable? Least palatable? Summary: Shorter latencies to eat OR and FL suggest that these foods are more palatable than RC.

In a three-course meal, does the sequence of food presentation affect total food or nutrient intake or macronutrient intake? Summary: When presented simultaneously, rats show a strong preference for Froot Loops. RC and OR are of similar palatability.

Results So total intake in grams wasn’t affected but what about the caloric intake?

The Essential Points Overeating is a serious problem Why do we overeat? Need for study of feeding behaviors An animal model of overeating SSS and overeating Do rats overeat? Does palatibility contribute to overeating? What effect does palatability have on food, caloric, and macronutrient intake? Must establish relative palatabilities for 3 foods? Does the sequence of courses affect intake? How is this information useful or beneficial? What recommendations can be made based on our results?

What did we learn? 3 food choices offered Froot loops=most palatable, rat chow=the least, and funyuns=intermediate If offered 3 foods simultaneously, rats will eat to satiety on the most palatable food, eating very little of the less palatable foods. After being food deprived, the order in which 3 meals were offered did not effect the total food intake. Changing the order in which you eat food has no effect on how much you eat. Meal sequence does have an effect on the nutritional value of what you eat in a meal

Return to the Growing Problem of Overweight and Obesity Observation: Easy access to highly palatable, energy dense foods promotes overeating. Advise based on our research and understanding of SSS: Eat more nutritious foods first, then can eat less dessert and feel just as satisfied. = <

Experimental Timeline Did the sequence in which the rats received the courses affect the total food intake? 9:40 Remove Course 2, Present Course 3, Measure Course 2 total intake Measure food intake 9:30 10:00 Measure food intake Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Present Course 1 8:00 Measure food intake 8:50 9:10 Remove Course 1, Present Course 2, Measure Course 1 total intake 10:10 Remove Course 3, Measure food intake 18 hr food Deprivation