First Foods Most: After 18-Hour Fast, People Drawn to Starches First and Vegetables Last

Abstract

Background: Short-term food deprivation of 18-24 hours is fairly common. It can be medically imposed before blood draws or surgery, or it can be self-imposed in the case of serious dieting, religious fasts, and chaotic work schedules.

While assumed that fasting biases brain reward systems towards high-calorie foods, animal studies have only examined calorie levels and not food types.

When a food-deprived person finally eats, what macronutrients or general types of foods do they eat first and most? The answer has implications for the precautions that patients, fasters, medical interns, and dieters should take when first serving and eating food after a short period of food deprivation.

Objective: How does short-term fasting or food deprivation bias what foods (starches, vegetables, and protein) a person eats and how much they eat of them?