Food preferences among individuals with and without Prader-Willi syndrome

Eleven individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome and 10 control subjects who had mental retardation due to other causes (with and without overeating histories) participated in two experiments on food preferences. They gave preference rankings for various foods, then chose between a small amount of their most preferred food and an alternative choice of a larger amount of mixed-preference foods (Experiment 1) or an alternative choice of a larger amount of their least preferred food (Experiment 2). Unlike overweight-prone control subjects who selected sweet food over a larger quantity of unpreferred food, subjects with Prader-Willi syndrome selected preferred items only over least-preferred items (Experiment 2) but not over mixed-preference items (Experiment 1). Implications for treatment were discussed.