Postprandial Effects of a Hallucinatory Meal on Appetite Regulation

The regulation of appetite is crucial to control food intake and consequently body weight. Hypnosis has been successfully used to modulate gastrointestinal functions, by imagining eating food. In the present pilot trial, the investigators search to investigate the effects a hallucinatory meal by hypnosis on subjective appetite and appetite hormone blood levels. Hence, two different breakfast meals are randomly administered to eight healthy postmenopausal women, in a crossover design, consisting of i) a hallucinatory breakfast meal (HB) and ii) a real breakfast meal (RB). On each test day, participants undergo baseline measurements, including appetite sensation and blood sample, then the test meal is hallucinated or served. Subjective appetite is assessed each 30 minutes for 4 hours and half, while blood samples are taken at 20', 60', 90' and 180 minutes. At the end of each session, participants are instructed to fill in a food record for the following 3‐days.