Psychophysiological responses to food exposure: an experimental study in binge eaters

The aim of the present study was to investigate psychophysiological responses to food exposure in binge eaters.

Thirty female volunteers reporting regular binge attacks were compared with 30 nonbinge eaters. Subjects attended individually for the single laboratory session. Continuous measures of heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), electrodermal activity (EDA), and respiration rate were taken during rest and exposure to their favorite binge food. In addition, psychophysiological monitoring continued while subjects were allowed to eat after food exposure. Participants also completed inventories assessing restrained eating style (FEV, Revised Restraint Scale). Ratings of nervousness, distress, desire to binge, and hunger were collected repeatedly throughout the experiment.

The results indicate higher psychophysiological arousal in binge eaters than in nonbinge eaters. Binge eaters maintained a higher arousal level in BP and EDA throughout the food exposure trial than controls. HR during food exposure predicted the relative amount of food consumed during the eating trial across all subjects. This relationship, however, was more pronounced in binge eaters than controls and in restrained compared to unrestrained binge eaters.

The implications of these results are discussed in terms of conditioning and arousal models of cue reactivity in binge eating.