THA FAT LOSS: THE SATIETY CASCADE
The many processes of hunger and appetite regulation have been brought together in the form of the ’satiety cascade’. The schematic representation of the eating process provides us with a means of linking the above factors to provide more information about how hunger and appetite work together to regulate eating behaviour.
While this cascade emphasises the physical factors, the psychosocial factors also help to determine both the size of the meal (satiation) and the length of time before we next eat (satiety).
The stages involved in satiation and early and late satiety have been described as sensory, cognitive, postingestive and postabsorp-tive. In real life, these stages will overlap and their effects can combine to affect eating behaviour.
Sensory effects—are stimulated by the flavour of food. We are not sure how different people react to different sensory factors, but we do know that taste is a stronger predictor of energy consumed from foods than their perceived ‘fillingness’. Fast food manufacturers seek to create a ‘bliss point’ where their foods have maximum sensory desirability.
Women are perhaps more likely to react with increased appetite, whereas men may decrease their food intake.
Postingestive effects—reflect gastrointestinal signals, i.e. how full the stomach gets, how quickly it empties, the release of hormones to signal ‘fullness’ and the stimulation of physiochemically specific receptors along the gastrointestinal tract.
Postabsorptive effects—include nutrient, hormonal and metabolic signals, plus the possible effects of these on neurotransmitter function. This feedback mechanism probably gives the brain information on the body’s energy stores.
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