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Recent Advances in Understanding Human Appetite: From Metrics to Influential...
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Recent Advances in Understanding Human Appetite: From Metrics to Influential Factors and Their Effects on Eating Behaviour

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Consumer Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 16369

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Derek V. Byrne

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food Quality Perception and Society, iSenseLab, Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, DK-8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Interests: sensory science; consumer science; food and beverage product quality; nutrition and eating; multisensory effects; crossmodal interactions; sensory methods; food uniqueness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Barbara Vad Andersen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food Quality Perception and Society, iSenseLab, Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, DK-8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Interests: sensory science; consumer science; appetite; nutrition and health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Consuming sufficient food to maintain energy stores is necessary for the survival of all living species including humans. Yet, appetite, the system that influences energy intake, is influenced by psychological, physiological and neural signals, which make humans vulnerable to under- as well as overconsumption.

To understand the complex nature of human appetite, it is necessary to study the various homeostatic and hedonic drivers (and their interactions) involved in the regulation of eating, along with the characteristics that differentiate healthy intake behavior from consumption below and above physiological needs. Of equal importance to the study of appetite are proper (reliable and valid) means for its measurement, no matter if the focus is on measuring the explicit subjective response either in isolation or in combination with implicit measures, or endocrine or neural biomarkers (to mention a few examples).

In this Special Issue, we aim to bring together research that contributes to a state-of-the-art understanding of human appetite, its measurement, and implications for eating behavior.

This includes:

  • Innovative approaches to the measurement of human appetite: consumer science methodologies alone or in combination with endocrine and/or neural measures for the measurement of the homeostatic and/or hedonic appetite response.
  • The effect of product-related factors on human appetite: how intrinsic product factors such as ingredients, collative properties and sensory properties drive alterations in human desire to eat, hunger and satiety.
  • The effect of person characteristics on human appetite: how biological, psychological and cultural factors affect the homeostatic and/or hedonic appetite response.
  • Human appetite in relation to eating behavior: the relation between subjective sensations of appetite and desire to eat, food choice and/or intake.

In this Special Issue of Foods, we encourage the submission of manuscripts utilizing sensory and consumer science methodologies alone or in combination with endocrine and/or neural measures for measuring human appetite. This includes (but is not limited to): original research papers of studies measuring the effect of product and/or subject characteristics on appetite, method development papers focusing on means to measure appetite (before, during and/or after food intake), review articles on homeostatic and/or hedonic aspects of appetite, and perspectives on new approaches to appetite-related research. Manuscripts applying non-consumer science methodologies only (e.g., endocrine or neural methodologies) are not within the scope of this Special Issue.

The ultimate aim is to publish this Special Issue collection as an open source book volume, to act as a tool for understanding advances in appetite-related research.

Prof. Dr. Derek V. Byrne
Dr. Barbara Vad Andersen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • appetite
  • measurement of human appetite
  • product-related factors and human appetite
  • person characteristics effect on human appetite
  • human appetite in relation to eating behavior
  • nutrition and health

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 1273 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Social Anhedonia and Perceived Pleasure from Food—An Exploratory Investigation on a Consumer Segment with Depression and Anxiety
by Nikoline Bach Hyldelund, Derek Victor Byrne, Raymond C. K. Chan and Barbara Vad Andersen
Foods 2022, 11(22), 3659; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11223659 - 16 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2967
Abstract
Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, is a key symptom of a range of mental and neurobiological disorders and is associated with altered eating behavior. This research study investigated the concept of anhedonia in relation to mental disorders and the perception of [...] Read more.
Anhedonia, the diminished ability to experience pleasure, is a key symptom of a range of mental and neurobiological disorders and is associated with altered eating behavior. This research study investigated the concept of anhedonia in relation to mental disorders and the perception of pleasure from food to better understand the link between anhedonia and eating behavior. A consumer survey (n = 1051), including the Food Pleasure Scale, the Chapman Revised Social Anhedonia Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, was conducted to explore the perception of pleasure from food among people with anhedonic traits. Comparative analyses were performed between people with symptoms of depression and/or anxiety and people with no symptoms of these conditions. A segmentation analysis was furthermore performed based on three levels of anhedonia: Low, Intermediate and High anhedonia. Thus, insights into how food choice and eating habits may be affected by different levels of anhedonia are provided for the first time. Our findings showed that the ‘Low anhedonia’ segment found pleasure in all aspects of food pleasure, except for the aspect ‘eating alone’. ‘Eating alone’ was, however, appreciated by the ‘Intermediate anhedonia’ and ‘High anhedonia’ segments. Both the ‘Intermediate anhedonia’ and ‘High anhedonia’ segments proved that their perceptions of food pleasure in general were affected by anhedonia, wherein the more complex aspects in particular, such as ‘product information’ and ‘physical sensation’, proved to be unrelated to food pleasure. For the ‘High anhedonia’ segment, the sensory modalities of food were also negatively associated with food pleasure, indicating that at this level of anhedonia the food itself is causing aversive sensations and expectations. Thus, valuable insights into the food pleasure profiles of people with different levels of anhedonia have been found for future research in the fields of mental illness, (food) anhedonia, and consumer behaviors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Understanding Human Appetite: From Metrics to Influential Factors and Their Effects on Eating Behaviour)
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23 pages, 2819 KiB  
Article
Is Stress Taking the Pleasure Out of Food?—A Characterization of the Food Pleasure Profiles, Appetite, and Eating Behaviors of People with Chronic Stress
by Nikoline Bach Hyldelund, Chanette Frederiksen, Derek Victor Byrne and Barbara Vad Andersen
Foods 2022, 11(13), 1980; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11131980 - 4 Jul 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5462
Abstract
Psychological stressors frequently occur in modern society, and are associated with general anhedonic traits (inability to experience pleasure) and altered eating behavior. As eating behavior is largely motivated by a desire for pleasure, the Food Pleasure Scale (FPS) was introduced as a new [...] Read more.
Psychological stressors frequently occur in modern society, and are associated with general anhedonic traits (inability to experience pleasure) and altered eating behavior. As eating behavior is largely motivated by a desire for pleasure, the Food Pleasure Scale (FPS) was introduced as a new research tool for investigating aspects of pleasure from food-related experiences. Thereby, insights on whether some aspects of pleasure are more affected by stress than others can be investigated, and can help explain why changes in eating behavior are seen when under the influence of stress. A consumer survey including n = 190 Danish consumers all with moderate or high levels of perceived stress was conducted to explore the perception of pleasure from food, general appetite, meal patterns, as well as specific food preferences. The study showed that the majority found pleasure in the sensory modalities of food, as well as in the ‘comforting’ aspects of food pleasure. Furthermore, the moderately stressed respondents had fewer main meals and more post-dinner snacks and night meals, as compared to before falling ill, whereas the highly stressed group showed signs of anhedonic traits and losing appetite altogether. The present study contributes to our understanding of how a common condition, such as chronic stress, can affect individual, as well as public, health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Understanding Human Appetite: From Metrics to Influential Factors and Their Effects on Eating Behaviour)
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19 pages, 1110 KiB  
Article
Food Pleasure Profiles—An Exploratory Case Study of the Relation between Drivers of Food Pleasure and Lifestyle and Personality Traits in a Danish Consumer Segment
by Nikoline Bach Hyldelund, Derek Victor Byrne and Barbara Vad Andersen
Foods 2022, 11(5), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11050718 - 28 Feb 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3597
Abstract
A greater comprehension of factors contributing to pleasure from food-related experiences could increase understanding of underlying processes around different eating behaviours. We explored drivers of food pleasure and whether certain consumer characteristics were associated with specific food pleasure profiles. This study aimed to [...] Read more.
A greater comprehension of factors contributing to pleasure from food-related experiences could increase understanding of underlying processes around different eating behaviours. We explored drivers of food pleasure and whether certain consumer characteristics were associated with specific food pleasure profiles. This study aimed to investigate (1) how Danish consumers vary in terms of primary drivers of food pleasure, and (2) how differences in food pleasure are related to specific sociodemographic, lifestyle, health and eating behavioural personality traits. Three-hundred and fifty-five respondents (mean age 33.3 years) rated the importance of different drivers of food pleasure, along with sociodemographic, lifestyle, health and eating behaviour variables. Segmentation analysis was performed based on emerging food pleasure dimensions, and profiling of segments was conducted by multivariate regression analysis and calculations of odds ratios. The results demonstrated that five specific consumer segments could be defined, ‘Sensory-pleasure Seekers’ (50%), ‘Internal-pleasure Seekers’ (34%), ‘Contextual-pleasure Seekers’ (17%), ‘Exploratory-pleasure seekers’ (13%) and ‘Confirming-pleasure seekers’ (5%), each with specific characteristics. Importantly, this research indicates that a link between mental health, personality, eating behaviour and perceived food pleasure is evident. These insights contribute to the comprehension of the complex nature of food choices of importance to accommodating public health issues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Understanding Human Appetite: From Metrics to Influential Factors and Their Effects on Eating Behaviour)
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14 pages, 1779 KiB  
Article
Sensory Specific Desires. The Role of Sensory Taste Exposure in Desire for Food with a Similar or Different Taste Profile
by Nora Chaaban and Barbara Vad Andersen
Foods 2021, 10(12), 3005; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10123005 - 4 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2945
Abstract
The present study investigated how the sensory taste profile of a meal altered the subjective desire, wanting and liking of foods with a sweet, salty, sour, bitter, fatty, and spicy sensory profile, respectively. Participants (n = 85) ate a meal with a [...] Read more.
The present study investigated how the sensory taste profile of a meal altered the subjective desire, wanting and liking of foods with a sweet, salty, sour, bitter, fatty, and spicy sensory profile, respectively. Participants (n = 85) ate a meal with a pronounced sensory taste profile: (1) sweet, (2) salty, or (3) sweet and salty combined. Self-reports of appetite, pleasantness, and sensory specific desires (SSD) were evaluated over the course of the meal using VAS-scales. SSDs were further studied through alterations in liking and desire for food samples with the main sensory profile being sweet (peach), salty (pretzel), sour (green apple), bitter (dark chocolate), fatty (whipped cream), and spicy (chilli nut), respectively. Consumption of food with a pronounced sensory taste profile was found to suppress the desire for food with a similar sensory taste profile, while the desire for different sensory profiles were enhanced or not affected. Further, when exposed to two pronounced tastes within the same meal, suppression of sensory desires was not only specific for the exposure tastes but tended to go beyond the sensory exposure. The findings suggest that taste variation within a meal holds the potential to create more satisfying meals, which can hinder additional desires after a meal and thus, lower additional calorie intake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Understanding Human Appetite: From Metrics to Influential Factors and Their Effects on Eating Behaviour)
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