Evidence that novel flavors unconditionally suppress weight gain in the absence of flavor-calorie associations
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Evidence that novel flavors unconditionally suppress weight gain in the absence of flavor-calorie associations Benjamin M. Seitz 1
&
Mary E. Flaim 1 & Aaron P. Blaisdell 1
# The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2020
Abstract Beginning with Pavlov (1927), there has been great interest in how associative learning processes affect eating behavior. For instance, flavors can become preferred when paired with calories or, conversely, become aversive when paired with illness. This relationship between flavors and caloric or toxic outcomes has been investigated by a number of theorists. We studied the effect of daily consumption of a flavor that was either paired or unpaired with calories provided by sugar on body weight change and daily food consumption over a 21-day period. Over three experiments, we observed an unanticipated attenuation of weight gain following consumption of flavored liquid solutions, particularly when those solutions were non-caloric. However, we did not find any impact of consuming the flavored liquid solutions on appetite. Given differences in weight gain in the absence of differences in the amount of food consumed, we suggest that unconditioned metabolic responses are elicited to initially novel flavor stimuli, even if those flavors are not followed by caloric outcomes. Potential dieting interventions based on these findings are discussed as is how they inform our understanding of the balance between unconditioned and conditioned responses. Keywords Pavlovian conditioning . Metabolism . Weight gain . Eating . Energy regulation . Learning
Introduction The obesity epidemic currently poses a major health (Williams, Mesidor, Winters, Dubbert, & Wyatt, 2015) and financial (Tremmel, Gerdtham, Nilsson, & Saha, 2017) threat to societies around the world. Rates of obesity have increased dramatically over the past several decades, with environmental factors being strongly implicated (Apovian, 2016). As food intake and nutrient digestion are necessary factors in weight gain, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that govern food consumption and metabolic processes is needed in order to address possible interventions to treat obesity. Beginning with Pavlov (1927), there has been great interest in the role of associative learning in eating behavior, including the regulation of appetite. Food choice and foraging decisions are influenced by associative learning about food cues. Such learning aids in discriminating food from non-food (e.g., as food preferences and aversions), readies digestion (e.g., through the release of digestive
* Benjamin M. Seitz [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
enzymes), and regulates post-prandial energy regulation (e.g., through insulin signaling). For example, Pavlov (1910) found that the viscosity and amount of saliva that was elicited by the presentation of a food stimulus differed depending on what that food stimulus was. Moreover, he found sham feeding, a procedure in which surgical manipulations prevent chew
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