Abstract
Background
The eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) experimental paradigm measures intake of
highly palatable, highly processed foods when sated. However, no studies have examined
EAH in pregnant women.
Objective
The objectives were to investigate whether EAH in pregnant women differs by level
of food processing and to examine relationships of EAH with hedonic hunger, addictive-like
eating, and impulsivity.
Design
EAH was assessed in a counterbalanced crossover feeding substudy in which participants
completed two free-access eating occasions following a standardized meal during their
second pregnancy trimester. Hedonic hunger (Power of Food Scale), addictive-like eating
(modified Yale Food Addiction Scale), and impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-15)
were assessed by self-report during early pregnancy.
Participants and setting
Data were collected from March 2015 through September 2016 from a subsample of participants
(n = 46) enrolled at ≤12 weeks gestation in an observational, prospective cohort study
(the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study) in North Carolina.
Intervention
Participants were presented with highly processed and minimally processed foods in
two separate assessments.
Main outcome measures
Energy intake (EAH-kcal) and percent consumed (EAH-%) (calculated as 100 × [amount
consumed (g) / amount served (g)]) was measured overall and separately for sweet and
savory foods.
Statistical analyses performed
Linear mixed models estimated the effect of condition on EAH. Hedonic hunger, addictive-like
eating, impulsivity and their interaction were examined separately.
Results
EAH-% was similar across conditions (16.3% ± 1.1% highly processed vs 17.9% ± 1.2%
minimally processed; P = 0.76), resulting in 338.5 ± 34.2 kcal greater energy intake in the highly processed
vs minimally processed condition (P < 0.001). Hedonic hunger was not significantly associated with EAH; reward-related
eating was positively associated with EAH-kcal and EAH-% of savory foods, and Barratt
Impulsivity was positively associated with EAH-kcal and EAH-% overall, and with EAH-%
of sweet foods (P < 0.05). There was little evidence of an interaction of Barratt Impulsivity with
hedonic hunger or reward-related eating.
Conclusions
EAH in pregnant women occurs for both highly processed and minimally processed foods
and correlates positively with self-reported addictive-like eating, but not hedonic
hunger. Impulsivity did not modify associations of addictive-like eating with EAH
in this sample.
Keywords
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Biography
K. Burger is an assistant professor, Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill.
Biography
L. M. Lipsky is a staff scientist, Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child health and Human Development, Bethesda MD.
Biography
M. S. Faith is a professor, Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education, Buffalo, NY.
Biography
A. M. Siega-Riz is dean and a professor, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; at the time of the study, she was a professor and associate dean for academic affairs, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill.
Biography
G. E. Shearrer is an assistant professor, Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill.
Biography
A. Liu is a senior investigator, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD.
Biography
T. Nansel is a senior investigator, Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 24, 2020
Accepted:
September 22,
2020
Received:
September 17,
2019
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Intramural Research Program (contract #HHSN275201300015C and #HHSN275201300026I/HHSN27500002).
This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02217462, on August 13, 2014.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS All authors designed the research; K. Burger conducted the research; L. Lipsky performed statistical analysis; L. Lipsky, K. Burger, T. Nansel, A. M. Siega-Riz, M. Faith, and G. Shearrer wrote the manuscript; all authors revised critically; and L. Lipsky, T. Nansel, and K. Burger had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Identification
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© 2021 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
