Psychosomatic Medicine 21:281-289 (1959)
© 1959 American Psychosomatic Society

Obesity and the Denial of Hunger

¹ Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia 4, Pa

The relationship of gastric motility to the experience of hunger has been investigated. In accord with traditional views a group of nonobese women usually reported hunger during contractions of the empty stomach, and no hunger in the absence of such contractions. A group of obese women, on the other hand, usually failed to report hunger during the presence of stomach contractions. This denial of hunger extended to a denial of sensations of epigastric emptiness and of the desire to eat, --fundamental characteristics of the hunger experience among nonobese women. That the denial of hunger was due to a specific difficulty in discrimination in the presence of gastric motility is suggested by the observation that there was no difference between obese and nonobese women in the distribution of hunger reports in the absence of gastric motility.

Obese subjects manifesting the "nighteating syndrome" showed a significantly higher incidence of denials of hunger than did obese persons not manifesting this syndrome.

The suggestion is made that denial of hunger occurs in persons with a conflict over eating who are simultaneously subjected to strong social pressures in this regard. Its function, according to this hypothesis, would be to exclude from awareness any stimuli that signal an approaching caloric deficit with its concomitant conflict over eating.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W. S. Agras, D. H. Barlow, H. N Chapin, G. G. Abel, and H. Leitenberg Behavior Modification of Anorexia Nervosa Arch Gen Psychiatry, March 1, 1974; 30(3): 279 - 286. [Abstract] [PDF]

				W. Weintraub and H. Aronson Application of Verbal Behavior Analysis to the Study of Psychological Defense Mechanisms: V. Speech Pattern Associated With Overeating Arch Gen Psychiatry, December 1, 1969; 21(6): 739 - 744. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Schachter Obesity and Eating Science, August 23, 1968; 161(3843): 751 - 756. [PDF]

				A. STUNKARD and C. KOCH The Interpretation of Gastric Motility: I. Apparent Bias in the Reports of Hunger by Obese Persons Arch Gen Psychiatry, July 1, 1964; 11(1): 74 - 82. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. B. THOMAS and M. A. KENDRICK Psychobiological Studies: I. The Relationship of Intellectual Productivity as Measured by the Rorschach Test to Body Weight Ann Intern Med, March 1, 1962; 56(3): 440 - 447. [Abstract] [PDF]