getting very hungry on a diet may be counterproductive

Doug Skrecky (oberon@vcn.bc.ca)
Fri, 1 Oct 1999 08:59:50 -0700 (PDT)

Authors
Lawton CL. Burley VJ. Wales JK. Blundell JE. Institution
Department of Psychology, University of Leeds, UK. Title
Dietary fat and appetite control in obese subjects: weak effects on satiation and satiety. Source
International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders. 17(7):409-16, 1993 Jul.
Abstract
The present study assessed the capacity of both high fat and high carbohydrate (CHO) foods to lead to overconsumption in 12 obese women (mean BMI = 42 kg/m2). Subjects were provided with either a low (527 kcal) or high (985 kcal) energy meal at midday. Energy intake was then measured in a later ad libitum dinner meal in which subjects ate from a range of either high fat or high CHO foods. Energy intake following exposure to these meals was then assessed using food intake diary records which were kept for the rest of the day and for the following 24 h. The energy manipulations at lunch gave rise to different levels in the rated intensity of hunger. At the dinner meal subjects consumed an average of 937 kcal following the high energy lunch and 1026 kcal following the low energy lunch (an increase of 10%). However, average intake from the high CHO dinner meal was only 677 kcal compared to 1336 kcal from the high fat dinner meal (an increase of 97%). Consequently the most important variable influencing dinner meal size was not level of hunger but the nutrient content of the range of foods consumed. Analysis of dinner meal intake revealed a significant interaction between lunch meal size and dinner meal type. This means that when hunger level was high subjects over-ate on the high fat but not the high CHO foods. Average post-dinner intakes following the high fat and high CHO meals did not differ significantly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Additional note by poster:

Other research has found that the dietary fat/carb ratio has no effect on calorie intake, that is not mediated by caloric density. This abstract describes a high density meal, which also happens to be high fat. My take on this is that it is likely to be counterproductive to get too hungry on a diet.