Psychosomatic Medicine 35:104-111 (1973)
© 1973 American Psychosomatic Society

Time Perception as a Function of Weight Reduction: A Differentiation Based on Age at Onset of Obesity

¹ Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021; A portion of this research was completed while Dr. Grinker was a Russell Sage Postdoctoral Fellow at Rockefeller University
² Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021; 23 Catoonah Street, Ridgefield, Connecticut
³ Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021

Address for reprint requests: Dr. Joel Grinker, Rockefeller University, East 66th St. and York Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10021.

Time perception was investigated in severely obese subjects with juvenile- or adult-onset of obesity during a long-term hospitalization for weight reduction as well as in hospitalized and nonhospitalized normal-weight subjects. Time perception was defined by the subjects' judgment of the duration of brief auditory signals. Juvenile-onset obese patients significantly underestimated the one- and three-second standard durations during and following weight loss. Adult-onset obese subjects and normal-weight subjects showed no changes in time perception. These findings are discussed in connection with concomitant findings of depression and reduced energy output among juvenile-onset obese subjects after weight reduction.