Salivary response when food-deprived : comparing dieters and non-dieters

Abstract

This study examined salivary, cognitive and emotional reactivity to food cues when both non-food-deprived and food-deprived. Ten women low­ restrained eaters, and ten women high-restrained eaters identified with the Revised Restraint Scale, participated in the study. Two sessions, one requesting subjects to consume a standard breakfast before coming into the session two hours later, and the other requesting subjects to fast for seventeen hours overnight, were attended one week apart. While at baseline, salivary reactivity did not differ significantly, there was a trend for an interaction effect across group and condition for salivary reactivity. There was a significantly higher urge to eat in the non-food-deprived condition, at baseline. There was a significant interaction effect for perception of smell and for amount of calories consumed, between the high-restrained eaters and low-restrained eaters, across conditions. These findings may highlight the cognitive, physiological and behavioural challenges faced by dieters. In addition, it may provide preliminary evidence that differences between dieters and non-dieters are, at least in part, the result of long-term dieting histories, rather than current dieting patterns.