Pleasure and alcohol: manipulating pleasantness and the acute effects of alcohol on food intake.

To examine the effects of manipulating pleasantness on subsequent energy intake following a moderate dose of alcohol, 12 males attended the laboratory on four occasions. On each occasion participants consumed breakfast then 4 h later were offered lunch. Twenty minutes before lunch participants received an alcohol (24 g ethyl alcohol, 1508 kJ, 405 ml) or a no-alcohol (867 kJ, 405 ml) containing beverage followed by a lunch of either "bland" (rated pleasantness=66+/-13 mm) or "flavoured" (73+/-10 mm) foods. Subjective ratings of appetite, mood and pleasantness of several bland and tasty foods were taken before and after preloads and lunch. Ad libitum energy intake at lunch was greater following alcohol in both taste conditions (p<0.01) (Alcohol/Bland, 2053+/-663 kJ; Alcohol/Flavoured, 1989+/-580 kJ) in comparison to the no-alcohol conditions (No-alcohol/Bland, 1548+/-357 kJ; No-alcohol/Flavoured 1670+/-401 kJ). No additive effect of palatability and alcohol was found; alcohol did not differentially affect intake of lunch items. Nor did alcohol increase the pleasantness of foods. Sensory specific satiety (SSS) was observed both following the preload and following lunch, with no discernible effects of alcohol on SSS. In conclusion, alcohol promoted food intake but this did not occur via the additive effects of alcohol and palatability nor through increasing the pleasantness of the taste of foods. Further research on the mechanism underlying the stimulating effects of alcohol on appetite is warranted.