Acquired sensory control of satiation in man

Lean male and female subjects who had been taking their meals as usual were given a 100 ml drink of starch immediately before a sandwich lunch. In the training phase, 65 per cent starch was given before lunches which included a yoghurt-based dessert of one flavour and 5 per cent starch was given before another flavour. Subjects who initially ate lunches of similar size following the two drinks began after several pairings to take larger lunches following dilute starch than following concentrated starch. In extinction tests, identical 35 per cent starch drinks were given before lunches including desserts of either flavour. Lunches including the flavour hitherto paired with dilute starch remained larger than lunches including the other flavour, at least initially in extinction. Some of the difference in intake occurred in the dessert itself. None was attributable to differences in the early stage of the lunches. These results extend to man recent demonstrations that the satisfying power of a foodstuff is in part acquired by association of its sensory characteristics with some consequence of ingesting the nutrients which are consistently taken with or in that food. This consequence may be rapid intestinal absorption of glucose during or shortly after sensory input. The nature of the intake- suppressing response remains to be determined.