Appetite Lexicon Training
Condition: Appetitive Behavior
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      A fundamental limitation to the application of appetitive sensations is how they are
      measured. The most common approach relies on untrained individuals to self-report the
      sensations they experience under a given set of conditions. Investigators believe this is
      problematic because assumptions made about participant ratings are likely not valid. The
      proposed protocol will permit examination of whether training on appetite lexicon enhances
      the reliability of appetite ratings. Investigators also hypothesize that different preloads
      will induce different magnitudes of appetite sensations (hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and
      prospective consumption) depending on their energy density.
    

Detailed description: 
      A fundamental limitation to the application of appetitive sensations is how they are
      measured. The most common approach relies on untrained individuals to self-report the
      sensations they experience under a given set of conditions. Investigators believe this is
      problematic because assumptions made about participant ratings are likely not valid. Most
      commonly, participants are asked to rate their hunger, desire to eat, fullness, and
      prospective consumption. For example, researchers have demonstrated that hunger and fullness
      stem from different physiological processes (e.g., different gut-peptides and
      neurotransmitters) and serve different purposes (eating initiation (hunger), meal termination
      (fullness)) and, accordingly, expect participants to rate the two sensations independently.
      However, participants treat them as opposite poles on a common continuum. Additionally, in
      focus group analysis, consumers often use researcher-defined distinct terms interchangeably
      (hunger=desire to eat; fullness =lack of desire to eat). However, the distinction between
      these sensations is clinically important. Hunger and fullness do not always change
      reciprocally and equally in clinical conditions. Hunger can change without a shift in
      fullness, and the reverse has also been reported. Investigators believe reporting
      sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability can be improved by training participants on the
      terminology of appetitive sensations prior to testing, just as any bench researcher would
      calibrate their instruments before measurements. The proposed protocol will permit
      examination of whether training on appetite lexicon enhances the reliability of appetite
      ratings. Investigators also hypothesize that different preloads will induce different
      magnitudes of appetite sensations (hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective
      consumption) depending on their energy density.
    

Intervention name(s): Lexicon training
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will receive training on the lexicon of appetite on up to 3 days during the training week. This will entail reading written definitions, watching an instructional video, eating exercises and completing training exams demonstrating they understand the distinctions between appetitive terms (hunger, desire to eat, fullness, and prospective consumption). The training will require about 30 minutes to complete. To ensure the success of training, participants must verbally describe the definitions of the outcome sensations to a member of the research team and complete a written quiz with at least 90 % correct responses. Failure to satisfactorily convey understanding of the concepts will result in an offer to repeat the training 2 more times or be rejected from the study.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Investigators will randomly assign recruited participants to one of two groups. One group will receive training in the lexicon of appetite (Hunger, Fullness, Desire to Eat, and Prospective Consumption), and the other group will be trained in the basic tastes (Sweetness, Sourness, Bitterness, and Saltiness) as an attention control. All participants will participate in two preload trials with mixed meals before training and six paired preload trials after training. Trials will be held once per week. On another day of the trial week, participants will record their appetite during the waking hours of one day through an online survey. The total duration of participation will be in 9 weeks.
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Basic Science