Appetite and Food Intake

A complex interplay of social, economic, psychological, nutritional and physiological forces influence ingestive behavior and demand an integrated research approach to advance understanding of healthful food choices and those that contribute to health disorders including obesity-related chronic diseases. Taking a multifaceted approach, Appetite and Food Intake: Behavioral and Physiological Considerations summarizes current understanding of environmental and physiological determinants of food choice and energy balance. The editors juxtapose pairs of chapters drawn from animal research and human clinical findings to highlight the synergies, and gaps in research approaches to highlight current knowledge and identify areas of needed and promising study. Beginning with a theoretical consideration of the purported existence and functionality of mechanisms for the regulation of feeding and energy balance, the book progresses through a more detailed consideration of knowledge related to mechanisms recruited from the initial thought of eating through post-ingestive events. Chapters address preingestive motivational, cognitive, and orosensory processes that influence food selection and continue with critical reviews of intestinal and postabsorptive signaling systems and nutrient metabolism. The book concludes with a consideration of how the micro- and macro-nutrient composition of foods influences ingestive behavior and the physiologic consequences of consumption. By comparing research from basic and applied scientific disciplines and knowledge from animal models and human trials, the editors provide a critical review of current knowledge of ingestive behavior and future research needs.