Food cue images and subjective appetitive responses in obese children

Food decision-making is based on various intrinsic and extrinsic factors of an individual. Food preferences and food cue sensitivity influence energy intake, which in turn affects body weight.

The present study assessed the subjective appetite of obese children in response to food cue images.

A total of 70 obese children (37 boys and 33 girls) of the age group 7-10 years were recruited for the study; 34 images of food items grouped under ten food blocks were used as cues to study the self-reported hunger, appetite and satiety sensations among the participants. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure participant responses for each food block.

The mean (standard deviation (SD)) body mass index-for-age 'Z' scores (BAZ) of the participants was found to be 2.15 (0.36). The subjective appetitive responses assessed using VAS showed that the hunger ratings of participants were found to be higher in response to images of cereals and cereal products (92.86%), and sweets (97.14%); satiety ratings of the participants were observed to be higher for milk and milk products (87.14%); cereals and savoury foods (78.57%); and higher appetite ratings of participants were recorded for sweets (97.14%) and cereals (92.86%).

Sophisticated neuroimaging techniques are well established in measuring appetite, but our study focused on the subjective analysis of appetite using cost-effective tools such as food cue images and visual analogue scales to further expand the research platform in appetite regulation and obesity.