No rapid recovery of sensory-specific satiety in obese women

Sensory-specific satiety (SSS) refers to a decrease in sensory pleasure derived from a specific food or drink with its consumption relative to the consumer's liking for the unconsumed foods and drinks. This satiety does not require any post-ingestive feedback, and yet it is an important factor in determining meal intake. SSS has not been found to be any weaker in obese people, but it might be the case that typically obese individuals rapidly recover from SSS. This hypothesis was examined in the present study, comparing 39 normal-weight women (mean ± SD body mass index (BMI) = 22.4 ± 2.2) and 45 obese women (BMI = 38.3 ± 4.8). Participants drank several servings of a test drink to induce SSS. Relative liking of the drink was determined before, directly after and 20 minutes after the repeated consumption of the test drink by means of subjective ratings for the pleasure of the taste, smell and mouth-feel of a test drink and a control drink. Relative liking for the test drink decreased in the normal-weight and obese women (indicative of SSS), but no suggestion of any recovery from SSS after the 20-minute interval was found for either group. There is no evidence to suggest that SSS and its recovery rate differs to any relevant degree between obese and normal-weight people.