Effects of repeated consumption on sensory-enhanced satiety

Previous research has suggested that sensory characteristics of a drink modify the acute satiating effects of its nutrients, with enhanced satiety being evident when a high-energy drink was thicker and tasted creamier. The present study tested whether this modulation of satiety by sensory context was altered by repeated consumption. Participants (n 48) consumed one of four drinks mid-morning on seven non-consecutive days, with satiety responses being measured pre-exposure (day 1), post-exposure (day 6) and at a 1-month follow-up. The drinks combined two levels of energy (lower energy (LE), 326kJ and higher energy, 1163kJ) with two levels of satiety-predictive sensory characteristics (low sensory (LS) or enhanced sensory). Test lunch intake 90min after drink consumption depended on both the energy content and sensory characteristics of the drink before exposure, but on the energy content alone after exposure and at the follow-up. The largest change was an increase in test meal intake over time in the LE/LS condition. The effects on intake were reflected in appetite ratings, with rated hunger and expected filling affected by sensory characteristics and energy content pre-exposure, but were largely determined by energy content post-exposure and at the follow-up. In contrast, a measure of expected satiety reflected sensory characteristics regardless of energy content on all the three test days. Overall, these data suggest that some aspects of the sensory modulation of satiety are changed by repeated consumption, with covert energy becoming more effective in suppressing appetite over time, but also suggest that these behavioural changes are not readily translated into expectations of satiety.