PHARMACOLOGICAL VERSUS SENSORY FACTORS IN THE SATIATION OF CHOCOLATE CRAVING

This is the first experimental study directed at differentiating betwe en physiological or sensory accounts of the satiation of nondrug cravi ngs, using chocolate craving, the most common craving in North America , At the onset of craving, chocolate cravers consumed a chocolate bar, the caloric equivalent in ''white chocolate'' (containing none of the pharmacological components of chocolate), the pharmacological equival ent in cocoa capsules, placebo capsules, nothing, or white chocolate p lus cocoa capsules. Chocolate reduced self-raced craving. The cocoa ca psules, placebo, and no treatment conditions had virtually no effect. White chocolate produced partial abatement, unchanged by the addition of all the pharmacological factors in cocoa. This result indicates no role for pharmacological effects in the satisfaction of chocolate crav ing. It also suggests a role for aroma independent of sweetness, textu re, and calories.