Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of a change in context on inhibition in the incidence of binge eating. Eighteen experimentally naive Wistar rats were used and were divided into three groups. Each group began with a free access period of fifteen days and three days of food deprivation. The first experimental group was deprived in a different context than that of its home box and returned to it for a free access period of 15 days. The second group was deprived in its home box and placed in a different context with free access for 3 days post-deprivation and later returned to its home box for 12 days. The control group did not change context in any period. The results showed that the change in context modified food intake during post-deprivation period. The incidence of binge eating was inhibited by the change in context.

It has been demonstrated that food deprivation and access to food are common variables in studies about experimental analysis of feeding behavior and motivation theory. It is unknown if the order of exposure of these variables can modify intake patterns. In the present study, the effect between food deprivation and access-duration to food was explored. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of food deprivation and food access-duration on food intake in rats. The experimental design included exposure, in ascending and descending order, to both variables. Twelve female rats were assigned to one of each of the four groups: Long Ascending, Long Descending, Short Ascending and Short Descending. It was found that food intake was greater in short groups, independent of the order of exposure. The corporal weight followed the same tendency as the food intake under all conditions. These results are being discussed in term of their possible implication for the development of excessive or deficit food-intake patterns. To extend the generality of these findings it is necessary for more studies to include more combinations of both variables, as well as male rats as subjects.

Nicotine is a chemical substance component of tobacco and produces serious changes in the organism. It is catalogued as one of the most addictive drugs. Studies with rats have showed that nicotine administration produces food consumption decrease and favor the maintenance of low body weight. The objective of our experiment was to evaluate if two different doses of nicotine have effects over body weight and food intake through transdermal patches application. Six experimentally naive Wistar rats were separated into three groups and exposed to free access to water and food during 40 days. Day 11 to 15 and 26 to 30 Group 1 was exposed to 4 mg of nicotine, Group 2 to 12 mg and Group 3 (control) did not receive any doses. The results suggest that nicotine decrease food consumption independent of doses used.

The aim was evaluate the effect of two forms of brief intervention on the consumption pattern of teenage students living in urban and rural zones of Aguascalientes, Mexico. The participants were 58 teenagers in a clinical, randomized essay in three study groups: brief intervention –PIBA- (n=20), brief counseling (n=20) and a control group on the waiting list (n=18); each group had two levels: urban teenagers and rural teenagers Follow-up was carried out three and six months after they completed the treatment. The brief intervention involved 5 sessions while the brief counseling involved a single session. The study was carried out between 2005 and 2008. Non parametric analysis of repeated measures showed that PIBA and brief counseling significantly reduced consumption patterns in teenagers in the follow-up at three and six months after finishing treatment, unlike the control group that maintained its alcohol consumption levels. The analysis also shows that between teenagers from rural and urban zones, there are no significant differences in the reduction of the consumption pattern. Therefore, PIBA and Brief Counseling are effective interventions in reducing the consumption pattern of teenagers living in urban and rural zones. In a staggered treatment model, both interventions could be combined in a treatment package in which counseling should be the minimal initial intervention.