Disguised protein in lunch after low-protein breakfast conditions food-flavor preferences dependent on recent lack of protein intake

Gibson, E L, Wainwright, C J and Booth, D A (1995) Disguised protein in lunch after low-protein breakfast conditions food-flavor preferences dependent on recent lack of protein intake. Physiology and Behavior, 58 (2). pp. 363-371. ISSN 0031-9384

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Abstract

As in the conditioning of appetite for protein in the rat, human preference for and intake of a food at lunch was increased when the flavor of that food was paired with an adequate supply of protein, following a breakfast lacking in protein. Men and women rated their preferences for two flavors in tasted foods (soup and cornflour dessert) on test days before and after a day when one flavor was eaten in very low protein food and another day with a different flavor eaten in food containing protein, but with minimal sensory differences between these foods. Subjects given a low-protein drink preload preferred the protein-paired flavor, while those receiving a high-protein drink did not. In a second experiment, preferences were measured by intake as well as ratings, and the difference in amount of protein between high- and low-protein lunches was increased. By both measures, relative preference for high-protein-paired dessert flavors increased from before to after pairing. The increase in intake preference ratio for the protein-paired flavor was abolished by a high-protein preload. Thus, people have a learning mechanism whereby a lack in protein intake comes to cue the selection of protein-rich foods that are not known to be such, and/or loading with protein might trigger avoidance specifically of a high-protein diet.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: Human being; Protein appetite; Learned preference; Food intake; Food choice; Amino acid
Schools and Departments: School of Psychology > Psychology
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF0180 Experimental psychology
Depositing User: prof. David Booth
Date Deposited: 15 Jun 2015 06:04
Last Modified: 15 Jun 2015 06:04
URI: http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/54497
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