Project
Satisfaction - parsing satiation
Foods that can be consumed quickly promote overconsumption and thereby weight gain. Overconsumption can also be induced by mindless or distracted eating (eating without attention). However, the mechanisms by which quick and distracted eating lead to reduced satiation are unknown.
This project focusses on the mechanisms linking oro-sensory exposure, mastication and attention to satiation, and relates these lab measures to daily eating behaviour. Gaining such an understanding may ultimately lead to the development of products or strategies that enhance healthy choices and eating behaviour.
The project has three interrelated workpackages.
- Workpackage 1, led by the Division of Human Nutrition, deals with the effects of oro-sensory signalling and mastication on satiation. Outcome measures are cephalic-phase responses and peripheral and central (functional MRI) biomarkers of satiation.
- Workpackage 2 investigates how distraction disturbs processing of oro-sensory signals and impacts decisions to stop eating using functional MRI and biomarkers of satiation.
- In workpackage 3, the neural outcome measures from both other workpackages will be linked with daily eating behaviour.
More research: Sensory and metabolic drivers of eating behaviour
More research: Food-Gut-Brain interplay
More research: Food structure, oral processing and sensory perception