A Questionnaire-Based Assessment of Hunger, Speed of Eating and Food Intake in Children with Obesity

The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that obesity in Israeli children is associated with chronically increased hunger and to examine for persistent abnormalities of satiation and between-meal satiety in these children.

The parents of 200 children with obesity and 100 normal-weight children completed a questionnaire together with their child that rated hunger, food intake at main meal, and speed of eating. Time to hunger from the main meal was also recorded. Children with hunger ratings above 4 on a 7-point scale were considered to have persistent hunger. Food intake ratings at the main meal were used as an approximate indicator of satiation and time from main meal to feeling hunger as an approximate indicator of between-meal satiety.

There were marked differences between children with obesity and controls for hunger, food intake at main meal and speed of eating ratings (all p<0.001). The difference to time to hunger reached significance after adjusting for age and sex (p=0.048). 41% of the children with obesity had the highest rating for persistent hunger versus 5% of controls (p<0.001).

Persistent hunger, abnormal food intake at the main meal and rapid eating are common in children with obesity and are often of marked degree. These findings could have implications for understanding how pediatric obesity perpetuates itself and even worsens and its resistance to successful treatment over the long term.