The Psychology of Food Cravings: the Role of Food Deprivation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Dieting is often blamed for causing food cravings. Such diet-induced cravings may be mediated by physiological (e.g., nutritional deprivation) or psychological (e.g., ironic effects of food thought suppression) mechanisms. However, this notion is often based on cross-sectional findings and, thus, the causal role of food deprivation on food cravings is unclear. RECENT FINDINGS: Experimental studies suggest that a short-term, selective food deprivation seems to indeed increase cravings for the avoided foods. However, experimental studies also show that food craving can be understood as a conditioned response that, therefore, can also be unlearned. This is supported by intervention studies which indicate that long-term energy restriction results in a reduction of food cravings in overweight adults. SUMMARY: Dieting’s bad reputation for increasing food cravings is only partially true as the relationship between food restriction and craving is more complex. While short-term, selective food deprivation may indeed increase food cravings, long-term energy restriction seems to decrease food cravings, suggesting that food deprivation can also facilitate extinction of conditioned food craving responses.