Table 1.
Participant's demographics and descriptive data analyses. Obesity Class I, II & III according to World Health Organization Classification (World Health Organization, Geneva, 1998). Where Class I = BMI 30.0 to 34.9, Class II = BMI 35.0 to 39.9 and Class III BMI > 40.0. At first visit participants chose either Cantin® caramel candy 7-g or Ensure® Vanilla 7-ml as stimulus for determination of hedonic rating. The stimulus was retained for following visits. At first visit (Initial session) participants were asked to subjectively indicate the age at which they considered themselves to have become obese. Our study participants were all female, the age at perceived onset of obesity correlated with first childbearing in all participants.
| Participants Mean (± S.E.) Demographics | |
| Sex (n) | |
| Female | 10 |
| Age | 31.5 ± 3.2 |
| Body Mass Index † | |
| Initial BMI | 36.8 ± 1,8 |
| 3-Month Diet BMI | 34.9 ± 1,8 |
| Loss (%) | 5.2 ± 0.2 |
| Initial Body Weight (kg) | 94.7 ± 3.0 |
| 3-Month Body Weight (kg) | 89.9 ± 3.0 |
| Loss (%) | 5.2 ± 0.2 |
| Obesity Class (BMI) | |
| I (30.0 to 34.9) | 3 |
| II (35.0 to 39.9) | 4 |
| III (>40.0) | 3 |
| Stimulus chosen | |
| Liquid (Ensure® liquid diet) | 3 |
| Solid (Cantin® caramel candy) | 7 |
| Age of Perceived Onset of Important Body Weight ‡ | 24 ± 2 yr |
†: The body mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/m2).
‡: This variable is defined as that time when participants were aware that they were "heavier" than "average" individuals. This response was correlated with childbearing in all participants.