OBJECTIVE Food cravings are thought to be the result of conditioning or pairing hunger with consumption of certain foods. METHODS In a 2-year weight loss trial, subjects were randomized to one of four diets that varied in macronutrient content. The Food Craving Inventory (FCI) was used to measure cravings at baseline and at 6 and 24 months. Food intake was also measured at those time points. ...

BACKGROUND Food cravings are more prevalent and potentially problematic for many individuals with obesity. Initial evidence suggests that bariatric surgery has some short-term beneficial effects on cravings in adults, but little is known about the effect on adolescents or the trajectory beyond 6 months. METHODS The purpose of the present study was to determine the longitudinal effect of Roux-...

Based on the logic of mutual competition between cravings and odours for limited-capacity resources, this study investigated whether a simple olfactory task, involving a brief odour exposure, could reduce food cravings. In support, Experiment 1 showed that smelling a neutral unfamiliar odorant reduced cravings for highly desired food items, relative to a comparison auditory task and a no-task c...

Using confirmatory factor analysis, we cross-validated the factor structures of the Spanish versions of the State and Trait Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQ-S and FCQ-T; ) in a sample of 304 Spanish college students. Controlling for eating disorder symptoms and food deprivation, scores on the FCQ-T were higher for women than for men, but no sex differences were observed on the FCQ-S. Eating di...

The fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) was the first gene identified by genome-wide association studies to correlate with higher body mass index (BMI) and increased odds of obesity. FTO remains the locus with the largest and most replicated effect on body weight, but the mechanism whereby FTO affects body weight and the development of obesity is not fully understood. Here we tested whet...

Pregnancy is associated with increased sweet food cravings, but the relationship between sweet cravings and dietary intake remains uncertain. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is glucose intolerance first recognized during pregnancy. GDM may further perpetuate sweet food cravings and intake in pregnancy, although this has not been investigated. This study longitudinally assessed sweet food cr...

The present study compared the relative effectiveness of simple, commercially available food and non-food olfactory tasks on chocolate craving reduction. Chocolate cravings were induced by a series of coloured photographs and 67 undergraduate women were asked to smell one of three odours (green apple, jasmine, or water). The non-food odorant (jasmine) significantly reduced chocolate cravings re...

This study examined the association of food-specific decentering experiences with food cravings in a sample of meditators. Decentering refers to viewing one's thoughts as transient mental events and thus experiencing them as less subjectively real. This process has been suggested to be a key mechanism underlying the effects of mindfulness and many contemplative practices. Although most earlier ...

Both food cravings and rigid dietary control strategies have been implicated in low dieting success while flexible control often is associated with successful weight loss. An online survey was conducted (N = 616) to test the mediational role of food cravings between dietary control strategies and self-perceived dieting success. Food cravings fully mediated the inverse relationship between rigid...

BACKGROUND Food craving refers to an intense desire to consume a specific food. The Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQs) assess food cravings on a trait and a state level. METHOD The current study examined half-year retest-reliability of the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait-reduced (FCQ-T-r) and the Food Cravings Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S) and reports associations with current food deprivati...