Changes in taste and satiety in dietary-restrained women following stress

Stress has been shown to increase food consumption in women with high levels of dietary restraint (restrainers) but decrease consumption in nonrestrainers. The present study was designed to replicate the differential eating pattern following stress and measure physiological and subjective responses to food over repeated taste presentations. Restrained (N = 16) and nonrestrained (N = 16) women were given eight taste presentations of a food followed by an ad lib taste test. Between taste trials, half of the restrainers and nonrestrainers performed a variation of the Stroop stressor while remaining subjects sat quietly. Salivation to the food cue was measured at each trial as well as ratings of food liking, hunger, fullness, and arousal. Results showed significant effects of restraint on food liking and stress condition on hunger. Restrainers increased liking ratings over taste trials whereas ratings for nonrestrainers increased and then decreased to baseline levels by the last trial (p = 0.05). Nonstressed subjects showed an increase in hunger ratings, whereas ratings for stressed subjects did not show any stable directional pattern (p = 0.04). Salivary responses decreased for all groups (p = 0.01). A significant interaction of restraint by stress for intake was found (p = 0.03); restrainers increased consumption following stress whereas nonrestrainers decreased consumption as compared with controls. The data suggest that the Stroop task can influence intake in restrainers, but the changes in intake did not directly correspond to the changes observed during the presentations of the taste cues and stressor.