ResearchOriginal ResearchDecreasing the Consumption of Foods with Sugar Increases Their Reinforcing Value: A Potential Barrier for Dietary Behavior Change
Section snippets
Design
A pre-post study design was employed. Initial screening visits were used to determine study eligibility. Questionnaires, resting metabolic rate (RMR), and pretreatment RRVsugars were completed on subsequent visits prior to a 7-day dietary intervention designed to reduce daily intake of sugar to <10%. Participants were classified as normal weight (BMI=18.5 to 24.9) or obese (BMI≥30). All participants received the same 7-day diet intervention. Post-treatment RRVsugars was completed on the final
Results
As expected, the normal weight group had a lower (P<0.001) body weight and BMI than the obese group (Table 2). Participants endorsed a slightly greater liking of sweet foods (mean=9.95; SD=1.38) than savory foods (mean=9.05; SD=2.24) (P=0.010), but the absolute difference was small and liking scores were correlated (r=0.36, P=0.0178). Baseline RRVsugars did not differ across BMI (P>0.20). Obese participants were slightly, but significantly older than normal weight participants (Table 2).
Discussion
The current study is the first to assess whether an imposed restriction of a specific type of food (foods high in sugars) to promote a healthy eating pattern that meets the 2015-2020 DGA increases the RRV of the restricted food. The present study extends the literature by being the first to demonstrate that reducing foods high in sugars for 1 week increased RRVsugars by 33%. Such an increase in the RRVsugars could actually lead to greater initial intakes than before the restriction of the less
Conclusions and Future Directions
The consistent recommendations in the DGA across decades to lower added sugar intake without a population change points to the difficulties Americans have had in reducing added sugar intake.4, 5, 6 The current investigation establishes for the first time that following sugar-restricted diet for 1 week results in an increase in RRVsugars in adults, which may act as a barrier for reducing the consumption of these very reinforcing foods.9, 12, 13, 14 Reinforcement for sweet taste may be an
K. D. Flack is an assistant professor, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; at the time of the study, he was a molecular biologist, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
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K. D. Flack is an assistant professor, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; at the time of the study, he was a molecular biologist, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
K. Ufholz is a research psychologist, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
S. Casperson is a research biologist, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
L. Jahns is a research nutritionist, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
L. Johnson is a statistician, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
J. N. Roemmich is center director, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks, ND.
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. The mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations does not imply endorsement from the US government. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work was funded by the US Department of Agriculture. The study was approved by the University of North Dakota Institutional Review Board and registered under ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02744001.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS K. D. Flack, S. Casperson, L. Jahns, and J. Roemmich designed the study. K. D. Flack and K. Ufholz collected the data. K. D. Flack, K. Ufholz, and L. Johnson analyzed the data. K. D. Flack and K. Ufholz drafted the manuscript, with substantial contributions from other authors. All authors have approved the final version.