Sonia Rodríguez

Subjective and physiological reactivity to chocolate images in high and low chocolate cravers.

Cue-reactivity to chocolate images was assessed using self-report and physiological measures. From a pre-screening sample of 454, young women were selected and assigned to high and low chocolate craving groups (N = 36/group). The experimental procedure consisted in the elicitation and measurement of the cardiac defense and startle reflexes while viewing chocolate and standard affective images selected from the International Affective Picture System. In response to chocolate images, high cravers reported more pleasure and arousal but less control than low cravers. In high cravers, viewing chocolate images inhibited the cardiac defense but potentiated the startle reflex, as compared to low cravers. The results confirmed at the physiological level that the motivational state that underlies the experience of chocolate craving include both appetitive (inhibition of the defense reflex) and aversive (potentiation of the startle response) components. The findings supported a motivational conflict theory of chocolate craving.

Food cravings discriminate between anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Implications for success versus failure in dietary restriction

Food cravings are subjective, motivational states thought to induce binge eating among eating disorder patients. This study compared food cravings across eating disorders. Women (N=135) diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, restrictive (ANR) or binge-purging (ANBP) types, or bulimia nervosa, non-purging (BNNP) or purging (BNP) types completed measures of food cravings. Discriminant analysis yielded two statistically significant functions. The first function differentiated between all the four group pairs except ANBP and BNNP, with levels of various food-craving dimensions successively increasing for ANR, ANBP, BNNP, and BNP participants. The second function differentiated between ANBP and BNNP participants. Overall, the functions improved classification accuracy above chance level (44% fewer errors). The findings suggest that cravings are more strongly associated with loss of control over eating than with dietary restraint tendencies.

Adaptation of the food-craving questionnaire trait for the assessment of chocolate cravings : Validation across British and Spanish Women

English and Spanish versions of the FCQ-T [Cepeda-Benito, A., Gleaves, D. H., Williams, T. L., & Erath, S. A. (2000). The development and validation of the state and trait food-cravings questionnaires. Behavior Therapy, 31, 151-173] were adapted to create the food chocolate-craving questionnaire trait (FCCQ-T). Female college students from England (N=293), and Spain (N=373) completed the FCCQ-T. Good and similar measurement fits for the English and Spanish versions were found. In concordance with the higher consumption of chocolate in Britain, British women reported greater chocolate cravings than Spanish women. Overall, the FCCQ-T appears a well-suited instrument to investigate chocolate cravings in English- and Spanish-speaking populations.