The effect of anhedonic traits on snack food consumption and interoception of food-related pleasure and bodily sensations

Abstract

Human eating behaviour is driven by the need to secure energy demands and the desire for pleasure. Signals from the body guide this behaviour, relying on the ability to sense internal sensations. Impaired interoception has been linked to unhealthy eating habits. However, the impact of anhedonia (reduced ability to experience pleasure) on interoception and eating behaviour has not yet been studied and could enhance our understanding of eating behaviour. We conducted a cross-sectional study using self-report measures on 309 Chinese consumers with high (n = 150) and low (n = 159) anhedonic traits to explore differences in interoceptive experiences of snack food consumption. Specifically, we investigated interoceptive awareness, intuitive eating, and food-related pleasure using validated questionnaires. Additionally, we examined snack intake frequency, drivers of snack food consumption and post-ingestive sensations using self-developed questionnaires. We hypothesised that individuals with high anhedonic traits would exhibit low interoceptive awareness and lower intensity of interoceptive sensations linked to snack food consumption. Consistent with our hypotheses, low interoceptive awareness and intuitive eating were observed in individuals with high anhedonic traits. Furthermore, individuals with high anhedonic traits reported lower food-related pleasure, lower healthy snack intake frequency, and lower intensity of post-ingestive sensations for healthy snacks compared to the group with low anhedonic traits. Differences detected between groups were mainly detected for healthy snacking and not unhealthy snacking. Understanding how anhedonic traits relate to food pleasure and bodily sensations related snack consumption can provide novel insights and clarify focus areas for developing strategies supporting interoceptive awareness for long-term dietary behaviour changes.