Impact of Dietary Protein and Gender on Food Reinforcement
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, 2420 2nd Ave. North, Grand Forks, ND 58203-9034, USA
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Nutrients 2017, 9(9), 957; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9090957
Received: 28 June 2017
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Revised: 1 August 2017
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Accepted: 25 August 2017
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Published: 30 August 2017
Recent evidence suggests that increasing dietary protein may alter reward-driven eating behavior. However, the link between protein and food reinforcement is not known. We sought to determine the extent to which increasing dietary protein alters food reinforcement in healthy adults. In a randomized crossover study, 11 women (age = 25 ± 7 years; Body Mass Index (BMI) = 21 ± 2 kg/m2) and 10 men (age = 22 ± 2 years; BMI = 24 ± 2 kg/m2) consumed normal (15%) and high (30%) protein meals. Food reinforcement was assessed using a computer-based choice task (operant responding with concurrent log2(x) reinforcement schedules) 4 h after lunch. We found that food reinforcement was greater in men than women (p < 0.05) and greater for sweet than savory snack foods (p < 0.02). Gender interacted with dietary protein level (p = 0.03) and snack food type (p < 0.0001). Specifically, we found that increasing dietary protein decreased the reinforcing value of savory foods in women. The reinforcing value for sweet foods did not interact with dietary protein or gender. These results demonstrate the differential effects of dietary protein on the reinforcing value for energy-dense, highly palatable snack foods.
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Keywords:
food reinforcement; protein; snack foods; energy-dense foods; motivated behavior; eating behavior
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MDPI and ACS Style
Casperson, S.L.; Roemmich, J.N. Impact of Dietary Protein and Gender on Food Reinforcement. Nutrients 2017, 9, 957. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9090957
AMA Style
Casperson SL, Roemmich JN. Impact of Dietary Protein and Gender on Food Reinforcement. Nutrients. 2017; 9(9):957. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9090957
Chicago/Turabian StyleCasperson, Shanon L., and James N. Roemmich 2017. "Impact of Dietary Protein and Gender on Food Reinforcement" Nutrients 9, no. 9: 957. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9090957
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