Executive Statement:

Hunger in humans is driven by basic internal factors like nutritional or caloric deficit but also by external factors like the food environment.  as well as more complex behaviors driven by pleasure or desire.  The Power of Food Scale (PFS) is a validated measure of hedonic hunger, the pleasure-driven motivation to consume food even when not physically hungry.  So far the PFS is being used in pharmaceutical trials, by bariatric surgery clinics, weight loss clinics and nutritionists and dieticians in their practices.  It is useful to evaluate efficacy in pharmaceutical trials, clinical treatment of appetite issues and to measure the effects of factors that influence why we eat.

Description:

Food is a source of pleasure and joy to most people but may be a source of pain and suffering to some.  Our culture is filled with references to why people eat when they don’t need to.  For example, seeing or smelling delicious food, the time of day, habit, and emotions like boredom, stress, sadness, loneliness and even happiness are often given as reasons for eating.  The actual cause may have more to do with the constant availability of intensely pleasurable foods that constantly surround us. In other words, one type of hunger is caused by food deprivation but another kind is caused by constant temptations from the food environment – so-called “hedonic hunger.” 

Innovative research undertaken by Dr. Michael R. Lowe focuses on understanding hedonic hunger—a type of hunger driven by the desire for the pleasure derived from eating hyper-palatable foods, rather than by caloric necessity. The PFS measures individuals' thoughts about and urges for food when not physically hungry, providing insights into eating behaviors (e.g., so-called “food noise”), potential interventions and even medical problems (e.g., poor blood sugar control).  It is a copyrighted questionnaire and scoring system that allows researchers to evaluate people’s motivations for eating, and assess the impacts of pharmaceuticals, devices, traditional therapy and food itself on mood and other psychological issues.

Learn more in this Stories of Impact interview - EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF HEDONIC HUNGER: DR. MICHAEL R. LOWE’S JOURNEY FROM THEORY TO REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS.