Psychobiology of Obesity

In this chapter, the authors present a broad view of the current background to the obesity pandemic and the importance of eating behavior. By examining differences in factors known to affect appetite regulation in individuals identified as “resistant” or “susceptible” to weight gain, they show how appetite processes mediate the relationship between differences in an individual's biology, physiology, and psychology and their eating behavior, and their response to (variations in) the environment. One approach to characterizing individual susceptibility is through the identification and characterization of phenotypes. Under controlled laboratory conditions, appetite sensations have been shown to be a valid and reliable method for measuring subjective motivation to eat and have been found to be associated with measured energy intake. However, not everyone reports a good relationship between their sensations of hunger and fullness and their eating behavior, and a weakened satiety response to food may contribute to impaired appetite control.