GENDER, DIETARY RESTRAINT, AND SMOKINGS INFLUENCE ON HUNGER AND THE REINFORCING VALUE OF FOOD

Smoking may enhance satiety following meal consumption, thereby reduci ng subsequent eating (i.e., between-meal snacks), especially in women high in dietary restraint. Female smokers (n = 20, 10 high and 10 low restraint) and male smokers (n = 10) participated in two sessions, inv olving overnight abstinence from food and smoking (smoking abstinence day) or from food only (smoking day), in a within-subjects design. The reinforcing value of food was determined by the number of responses m ade to obtain food reinforcers (100-kcal snack portions) vs. money usi ng a concurrent schedules computer task. Subjects were given a small c aloric load on each day followed by access to food vs. money. On the s moking day, subjects were allowed to smoke every 30 min during the ses sion as well as ad lib before the session. Self-reported hunger was al so assessed upon arrival (after fasting) and following the caloric loa d during each session. Results indicated no effect of Smoking on initi al hunger rating, after fasting, but hunger ratings following the calo ric load declined significantly more during smoking vs. abstinence day s for all subjects, consistent with an enhancement of postmeal satiety due to smoking. There was no overall main effect of smoking on food-r einforced responding. However, responding for food was significantly l ess during the smoking vs. abstinence days for high-restraint females only and not for low-restraint females or for males. These findings in dicate that smoking's acute influence on reducing food intake does not reflect a broad gender difference but may be specific to dietary rest raint.