Background: The psychological characteristics of binge eating have been proposed as a phenotype to further understanding of overconsumption and susceptibility to obesity. This study examined the influence of trait binge eating in lean and overweight or obese women on appetite, food reward and energy intake. Methods: 25 lean and 25 overweight or obese women were categorised as either ‘binge type' or ‘non-binge type' based on their scores on the Binge Eating Scale. Food reward and food intake were assessed in fasted and fed conditions. Results: Overweight or obese binge types (O-B) consumed more energy than overweight or obese non-binge types (O-NB) and lean binge (L-B) and non-binge types (L-NB). Both L-B and O-B exhibited greater preference for sweet foods. In O-NB, L-B and L-NB, lower liking and wanting for sweet foods was exhibited in the fed condition compared to the fasted condition. However, in O-B wanting for sweet foods was greater when they were fed compared to when they were in a fasted state. Conclusions: These findings provide further support for trait binge eating as a hedonic subtype of obesity. Binge types were characterised by greater intake of high-fat sweet foods and increased wanting for these foods when satiated. Additionally, these findings highlight the potential for separation in liking and wanting for food as a marker of susceptibility to overeat.

The study of human appetite and eating behaviour has become increasingly important in recent years due to the rise in body weight dysregulation through both obesity and eating disorders. Adequate control over appetite is paramount for the control of body weight and in order to understand appetite, it is necessary to measure eating behaviour accurately. So far, research in this field has revealed that no single experimental design can answer all research questions. Each research question posed will require a specific study design that will limit the findings of that study to those particular conditions. For example, choices will be made among the use of laboratory or free-living studies, time period for examination, specific measurement techniques and investigative methodologies employed. It is important that these represent informed decisions about what design and which methodology will provide the most meaningful outcomes. This review will examine some of the ‘gold standard’ study designs and methodologies currently employed in the study of human appetite and eating behaviour.

Background: Food cravings are associated with dysregulated eating behaviour and obesity, and may impede successful weight loss attempts. Gaining control over food craving is therefore a component in the management of obesity. The current paper examined whether early changes in control over food craving (assessed using the Craving Control subscale on the Control of Eating Questionnaire (CoEQ)) was predictive of weight loss in four phase 3 clinical trials investigating a sustained-release combination of naltrexone/bupropion (NB) in obese adults. The underlying component structure of the CoEQ was also examined.Method: In an integrated analysis of four 56-week phase 3 clinical trials, subjects completed the CoEQ and had their body weight measured at baseline and at weeks 8, 16, 28 and 56. All analyses were conducted on subjects who had complete weight and CoEQ measurements at baseline and week 56, and had completed 56 weeks of NB (n=1310) or placebo (n=736). A latent growth curve model was used to examine whether early changes in the CoEQ subscales were associated with decreases in weight loss over time. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine the psychometric properties of the CoEQ.Results: The factor structure of the CoEQ was consistent with previous findings with a four-factor solution being confirmed: Craving Control, Positive Mood, Craving for Sweet and Craving for Savoury with good internal consistency (Cronbach’sα=0.72–0.92). Subjects with the greatest improvement in Craving Control at week 8 exhibited a greater weight loss at week 56.Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of the experience of food cravings in the treatment of obesity and support the use of the CoEQ as a psychometric tool for the measurement of food cravings in research and the pharmacological management of obesity.