ReviewObesity science & practice2018
A narrative review of the construct of hedonic hunger and its measurement by the Power of Food Scale.
Review in Obesity science & practice, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Post-Pandemic Shifts in Sustainable Food Behavior: A Systematic Review of Emerging Consumer Trends.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Do eating behavior traits predict energy intake and body mass index? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Six-month changes in ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide-1 with weight loss are unrelated to long-term weight regain in obese older adults.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2021Trial
- The Physiology Of the WEight Reduced State (POWERS) study: design and rationale for assessment of food intake, physical activity and other behavioral constructs.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Comparison of hedonic hunger and intuitive eating status between pregnant and non-pregnant women.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Appetitive traits and long-term risk of disordered eating: a 3-year follow-up in children with overweight and obesity.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2026Article
- Lower nutrition knowledge in individuals with prior metabolic-bariatric surgery despite comparable hedonic hunger and body image: a cross-sectional study.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- Exploring the association between hedonic hunger and obesogenic eating behaviors in females with overweight/obesity using machine learning methods.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Exercise modulates food reward: neurobiological mechanisms and implications for weight management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- The Association Between Power of Food Scale Scores and Weight Among Black/African American Individuals Consuming a Vegan or Low-Fat Omnivorous Diet in a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of nutrition and metabolism · 2026Article
- Addiction spectrum disorder: a conceptual framework for comprehensive understanding of addictive disorders.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Psychometric properties of the Power of Food Scale during pregnancy and postpartum.Journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- Design of the SHARE study: A randomized controlled trial evaluating the regulation of cues treatment for adults with overweight or obesity and high food responsiveness.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- Conceptual Framework for Nutritional Psychology as a New Field of Research.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Homeostatic Appetite and Hedonic Hunger 13 Years After Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: Potential Associations and Predictive Value in Determining Long-Term Weight Loss Outcomes.Obesity surgery · 2025Article
- Practical Awareness-Based Strategies for Eating (PASE): A Pilot and Feasibility Randomized Trial.Obesity science & practice · 2025Article
- Cognitive evaluations of water, urges to drink, and fluid intake in patients with kidney stones.Appetite · 2025Article
- Hedonic hunger and eating behavior after low-carbohydrate versus low-fat diets in females with lipedema and obesity.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe term 'hedonic hunger' refers to one's preoccupation with and desire to consume foods for the purposes of pleasure and in the absence of physical hunger. The Power of Food Scale (PFS) was developed as a quantitative measure of this construct in 2009. Since then, over 50 published studies have used the PFS to predict appetite-related outcomes including neural, cognitive, behavioural, anthropometric and clinical measures.
objectiveThis narrative review evaluates how closely the PFS captures the construct it was originally presumed to assess and to more clearly define hedonic hunger itself.
methodsThe measure's relationship to four domains is reviewed and summarized: motivation to consume palatable foods; level of actual consumption of such foods; body mass; and subjective loss-of-control over one's eating behaviour. Findings are synthesized to generate a more accurate understanding of what the PFS measures and how it may relate to the broader definition of hedonic hunger.
resultsResults suggest that the PFS is closely related to motivation to consume palatable foods and, in extreme cases, occurrence of loss-of-control eating episodes. PFS scores are not consistently predictive of amount of food consumed or body mass.
conclusionsImplications of these findings are discussed in the context of behavioural health, and avenues for further inquiry are identified.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.