ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on changes in food consumption that do not necessarily involve changes in hunger. Clinical observations indicate that cancer patients exhibit changes in taste preferences or specific food preferences. Changes in specific food preferences might be explained by learned taste aversions or changes in taste acuity. Reviews of studies that have examined the relationship between cigarette smoking and body weight reveal that habitual smokers weigh less than comparably aged nonsmokers, and that habitual smokers who give up smoking gain weight. Food, water, and sugar solutions were available 24 hours each day. An analysis of caloric intake from laboratory chow and sugar solutions revealed that animals receiving nicotine reduced their total caloric intake during drug administration and increased their total caloric intake after cessation of nicotine administration. The human study was designed to determine whether cigarette smoking and abstinence from smoking affects general or specific food consumption.
