Decision-making and Food Intake (Buffet)

Decision-making and Food Intake ("Buffet Study")

The study will investigate how the expectation of food availability impacts the response to food cues, mood, interoceptive awareness, and consumption of food intake in healthy, naturally cycling women.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Stress; Behavior; Cognition; Food Intake; Hormones
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Perceived food uncertainty; Behavioral: Perceived food certainty

Detailed Description

In this within-subjects, randomized crossover study, we will probe how perceived meal availability shapes eating behavior, cognition, and metabolic markers in healthy, naturally cycling women. Each woman attends two appointments in the afternoon (starting at 12 pm after an overnight fast): one in which meal timing and duration are fully disclosed ("certain" condition) and one in which that information is intentionally withheld ("uncertain" condition). During each appointment, participants first undergo a set of cognitive and behavioral tests, then are invited to sample ad libitum from a 30-item buffet under the respective certainty or uncertainty instructions. Venous blood is collected at six fixed intervals to measure fluctuations in ghrelin, leptin, insulin, glucose, and cortisol. To capture real-world eating patterns, participants also log all intake in a smartphone food-tracking app for three days leading up to the initial session.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Renée Sophie Cuntz, MSc; Phone Number: +49 33 200 88 2519; Email: Renee.Cuntz@dife.de
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Elisa Rehbein, Dr.; Phone Number: +49 33 200 88 - 2525; Email: elisa.rehbein@dife.de

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Brandenburg
    • Nuthetal, Brandenburg, Germany, 14558
      • Recruiting
      • German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke
      • Contact: Recruitment officer; Phone Number: +4933200882752; Email: Buffet-studie@dife.de

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Nulliparous women (age: 18-35 years) with a regular menstrual cycle (25-32 days)
• Legally competent/Consent to participate
• Language proficiency in German (native speaker, fluent)
• Physically and mentally healthy
• Body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 - 30 kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current or use of hormonal contraceptives in the previous 6 months
• Current use of hormonal intra-uterine devices (IUDs)
• Previous or current pregnancy
• Diagnosed psychological or metabolic disorder

• Former or current illnesses of:

  1. Brain or mind (including anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, personality disorders, alcohol, drugs or drug or non-substance dependence, neurological disorders other than occasional headache, psychiatric or neurological abnomalities)
  2. Heart or blood circulation/cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, hypotension, having a pacemaker)
  3. Gastro-intestinal disorders (e.g. colon diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease)
  4. Endocrine disorders (e.g. thyroid disorders)
  5. Other serious past or present medical conditions (for example, metabolic syndrome, diabetes)
• Other serious health problems or current severe mental or physical stress.
• Blood clotting disorder
• Fear of drawing blood
• Severe anemia
• Previously diagnosed hypoglycemia episodes
• Regular intake of medication (e.g. Antidepressant/anti-anxiety medication)
• Blood donation within 4 weeks before the study appointment
• Intake of anticoagulant medications
• illegal drug consumption
• smoking or nicotine consumption
• extreme athletes
• vegetarians or vegans or any other dietary restrictions due to allergies or intolerances
• shift workers

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Perceived food uncertainty	Behavioral: Perceived food uncertainty; Participants remain unaware of both the scheduled time and the length of the next meal.
Experimental: Perceived food certainty	Behavioral: Perceived food certainty; Participants are aware of both the scheduled time and the length of the next meal.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Laboratory food intake	Food consumed during a laboratory ad libitum buffet task, in which participants are able to order and consume different foods from a menu of their own liking.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Food-specific inhibitory control	Food-specific inhibitory control measured by a go/no-go task adapted from Teslovich et al., 2014.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Risk propensity on a decision-making task	In this task, participants decide between a risky/gamble or safe option, based on a paradigm by Liu et al., 2021.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Delay Discounting behavior in a computerized task	In this task, participants are asked to choose between an immediate and delayed monetary reward, based on a task paradigm by Eisenstein et al., 2015.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Range adaptation in reinforcement learning	Range adaptation in the context of a reinforcement learning task is assessed using a paradigm described by Gueguen et al., 2024.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Behavioral economic paradigm	In this task, participants manage a shared resource by deciding how much to extract from a common pool over multiple rounds. Based on their individual extraction, participants receive a monetary reward, which is reduced once the group exceeds a predefined extraction limit. Adapted from Lagenbach et al., 2019.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Heart rate	Resting-state and task-based heart rate, measured with a three-point electrocardiogram (ECG)	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Heart-rate variability	Resting-state and task-based heart-rate variability measured with a three-point electrocardiogram (ECG). Respiratory activity will also be recorded using a breathing belt to correct for breathing-related artifacts.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Electrodermal activity	Resting-state and task-based skin conductance measured with two electrodermal activity electrodes placed on the fingers of the non-dominant hand.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Subjective stress levels	Subjective stress levels are measured on a semi-continous scale from 1 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) repeatedly during each visit to assess stress responses to perceived food availability. Higher scores indicate greater stress.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Subjective hunger levels	Subjective hunger levels are measured on a semi-continous scale from 1 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) repeatedly during each visit to assess changes in subjective hunger ratings in response to perceived food availability. Higher scores indicate greater hunger.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Subjective fullness levels	Subjective fullness levels are measured on a semi-continous scale from 1 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) repeatedly during each visit to assess changes in subjective fullness ratings in response to perceived food availability. Higher scores indicate greater fullness.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Subjective satiety levels	Subjective satiety levels are measured on a semi-continous scale from 1 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) repeatedly during each visit to assess changes in subjective satiety ratings in response to perceived food availability. Higher scores indicate greater satiation.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Subjective food cravings	Subjective cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods are measured on a semi-continous scale from 1 (not at all) to 100 (extremely) repeatedly during each visit to assess changes in subjective food craving ratings in response to perceived food availability. Higher scores indicate stronger food craving.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Levels of diverse hormones	Levels of different hormones (e.g., estradiol, progesteron, testosterone, ghrelin, leptin) will be measured via blood sampling.	On 1st and 2nd visit (approximately 30 days later)
Levels of cortisol	Cortosol levels will be assessed multiple times throughout the visit as an objective measure of stress.	On 1st and 2nd visit (approximately 30 day later)
Insulin levels	Levels of insulin will be measured multiple times throughout the visit via blood sampling.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Glucose levels	Glucose levels will be measured multiple times throughout the visit via blood sampling.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Stress eating	Changes in food intake related to stress is assessed with the Salzburg Stress Eating Scale (SSES; Meule et al., 2018). Higher Scores indicate increased food intake in response to stress, while lower scores indicate reduced food intake when experiencing stress.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Reward-related behavioral activation and inhibition	Reward-related behavioral activation and inhibition are assessed using the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System questionnaire (BIS/BAS; Strobel et al., 2001). Participants respond on a four-point Likert scale: "strongly disagree," "disagree," "agree," and "strongly agree." Higher scores on the BIS scale indicate greater behavioral inhibition, while higher scores on the BAS scale reflect stronger behavioral activation.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Impulsivity	Impulsivity is assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS; Meule et al., 2011). Participants respond using a four-point scale: "rarely," "occasionally," "often," and "almost always." Higher scores indicate greater impulsivity.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Mood	Mood is measured twice during each visit before and after the ad libitum meal using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Janke & Glöckner-Rist, 2014). Participants respond to 20 mood adjectives-10 reflecting positive affect and 10 reflecting negative affect-using a five-point scale: "not at all," "very slightly," "moderately," "quite a bit," and "extremely." Higher scores on the positive affect scale indicate stronger positive mood, while higher scores on the negative affect scale indicate stronger negative mood.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Emotion regulation	Emotion regulation is assessed using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Abler & Kessler, 2009), which captures individual differences in the use of two distinct strategies to regulate emotions (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression). Participants rate their agreement with each item on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Higher scores on each subscale indicate more frequent use of the corresponding regulation strategy.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Perceived stress	Perceived stress is assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Schneider et al., 2020), which aptures the extent to which individuals perceive their lives as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overwhelming over the past month. Participants respond to general statements using a five-point scale ranging from "never" to "very often." Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
State anxiety	State anxiety is assessed twice during each visit before and after the ad lib meal using the state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Grimm, 2009); which captures the current intensity of anxiety as experienced at the moment of assessment. Response options include "almost never". "a little", "moderately", and "very much". Higher scores indicate higher levels of state anxiety.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Interoceptive awareness	Interoceptive awareness is assessed using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA; Eggart et al., 2021). The questionnaire measures various aspects of the awareness of internal bodily sensations. Participants respond to statements using a six-point scale: "never," "very rarely," "rarely," "occasionally," "frequently," and "always." Higher scores reflect greater awareness of bodily sensations.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Loss of control over eating	Participants will rate their subjective loss of control over eating during the ad lib buffet task. Higher values indicate greater loss of control.	on 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Habitual food intake	Self-reported habitual food intake (i.e., all food and drinks consumed) is assessed via an app and/or through additional handwritten food diaries on three consecutive days.	On three days before the 1st visit
Quantification of epigenetic markers related to appetite, menstrual cycle, and stress	Epigenetic markers associated with appetite regulation, menstrual function, and stress response will be measured in blood samples. Site-specific epigenetic modifications (e.g., DNA methylation or histone modifications) will be quantified using validated molecular assays.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Depressive mood	Depressive mood is assessed using the German version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Kühner et al., 2007). The questionnaire measures the severity of depressive symptoms experienced over the past two weeks. Higher total scores indicate more pronounced depressive symptomatology.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Body image	Body image is assessed using the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ; Pook et al., 2008), which measures concerns related to body shape commonly associated with eating disorders. Participants rate how frequently they experience body-related thoughts and feelings. Higher scores indicate greater body shape concern.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Trait food cravings	Food cravings are measured using the trait version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire (FCQ-T; Meule et al., 2012). Responses are given on a six-point scale from "never/not applicable" to "always," with higher scores indicating more frequent and intense cravings.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Dietary patterns	Dietary patterns are assessed using a food frequency questionnaire (Haftenberger et al., 2018), which captures the frequency and quantity of consumption across various foods and food groups over the past month. Participants indicate how often they consumed specific items and in which quantity, allowing for an overview of habitual dietary intake and eating patterns.	Day 2 (after approximately 30 days after day 1 i.e., 1st visit)
Intuitive eating	Intuitive eating is assessed using the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (van Dyck et al., 2019), which evaluates individuals' tendency to rely on physical hunger and satiety cues to guide decisions about when, what, and how much to eat. Participants respond on a five-point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree." Higher scores reflect a greater inclination toward intuitive eating behaviors.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Food insecurity status	Food insecurity status is assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES; Depa et al., 2018), which evaluates individuals' access to food by addressing factors such as financial constraints, availability, and dietary quality. Response options include "yes," "no," "refused," and "don't know." Higher scores reflect greater severity of food insecurity.	On 1st and 2nd visit (after approximately 30 days)
Restrained eating	Restrained eating is assessed using the "Cognitive Restraint of Eating" subscale from the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ; Pudel & Westenhöfer, 1989). The subscale includes both true/false items and statements rated on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("always") to 4 ("never"). Higher total scores indicate greater cognitive restraint in eating behavior.	Day 1 (1st visit out of 2)
Eating motives	Eating motives will be assessed using the Eating Motives Survey (TEMS; Renner et al., 2012). Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from "never" to "always". Higher scores on TEMS subscales indicate a greater reliance on those eating motives when making food or eating choices.	Day 1 (1st visit out of 2)
Family climate	Family climate is measured using the Familien Klima Skale (FKS; Roth, 2003). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1) "does not apply at all," 2) "applies little," 3) "applies moderately," 4) "applies predominantly," to 5) "applies almost completely." Higher total scores indicate a better family climate.	Day 1 (1st visit out of 2)
Attachment styles	Attachment styles will be assessed using the Adult Attachment Scale (AAS; Schmidt et al., 2004). Items are rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from "not at all true" to "exactly true." Higher scores on each subscale indicate a stronger endorsement of the corresponding attachment dimension. The subscales/attachment styles assessed are secure, avidant, anxious.	Day 1 (1st visit out of 2)
Gut Microbiome	To assess the relationship between the gut microbiome and participants' food intake during the ad libitum meal, fecal samples will be collected prior to the first visit, during the observational phase in which participants record their habitual dietary intake.	1 to three days before the 1st visit

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: German Institute of Human Nutrition
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Soyoung Q Park, Prof. Dr., German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Schmidt S, Strauss B, Hoger D, Brahler E. [The Adult Attachment Scale (AAS) - psychometric evaluation and normation of the German version]. Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2004 Sep-Oct;54(9-10):375-82. doi: 10.1055/s-2003-815000. German.
• Schneider EE, Schonfelder S, Domke-Wolf M, Wessa M. Measuring stress in clinical and nonclinical subjects using a German adaptation of the Perceived Stress Scale. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2020 May-Aug;20(2):173-181. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2020.03.004. Epub 2020 May 22.
• Liu L, Artigas SO, Ulrich A, Tardu J, Mohr PNC, Wilms B, Koletzko B, Schmid SM, Park SQ. Eating to dare - Nutrition impacts human risky decision and related brain function. Neuroimage. 2021 Jun;233:117951. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117951. Epub 2021 Mar 12.
• Meule A, Lutz A, Vogele C, Kubler A. Food cravings discriminate differentially between successful and unsuccessful dieters and non-dieters. Validation of the Food Cravings Questionnaires in German. Appetite. 2012 Feb;58(1):88-97. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2011.09.010. Epub 2011 Sep 29.
• Eggart M, Todd J, Valdes-Stauber J. Validation of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2) questionnaire in hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder. PLoS One. 2021 Jun 25;16(6):e0253913. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253913. eCollection 2021.
• Haftenberger M, Heuer T, Heidemann C, Kube F, Krems C, Mensink GB. Relative validation of a food frequency questionnaire for national health and nutrition monitoring. Nutr J. 2010 Sep 14;9:36. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-9-36.
• Langenbach BP, Baumgartner T, Cazzoli D, Muri RM, Knoch D. Inhibition of the right dlPFC by theta burst stimulation does not alter sustainable decision-making. Sci Rep. 2019 Sep 25;9(1):13852. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-50322-w.
• Teslovich T, Freidl EK, Kostro K, Weigel J, Davidow JY, Riddle MC, Helion C, Dreyfuss M, Rosenbaum M, Walsh BT, Casey BJ, Mayer L. Probing behavioral responses to food: development of a food-specific go/no-go task. Psychiatry Res. 2014 Sep 30;219(1):166-70. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2014.04.053. Epub 2014 May 10.
• Renner B, Sproesser G, Strohbach S, Schupp HT. Why we eat what we eat. The Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS). Appetite. 2012 Aug;59(1):117-28. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.04.004. Epub 2012 Apr 19.
• Depa J, Gyngell F, Muller A, Eleraky L, Hilzendegen C, Stroebele-Benschop N. Prevalence of food insecurity among food bank users in Germany and its association with population characteristics. Prev Med Rep. 2018 Jan 28;9:96-101. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.01.005. eCollection 2018 Mar.
• Pook M, Tuschen-Caffier B, Brahler E. Evaluation and comparison of different versions of the Body Shape Questionnaire. Psychiatry Res. 2008 Feb 28;158(1):67-73. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2006.08.002. Epub 2007 Nov 26.
• Kuhner C, Burger C, Keller F, Hautzinger M. [Reliability and validity of the Revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Results from German samples]. Nervenarzt. 2007 Jun;78(6):651-6. doi: 10.1007/s00115-006-2098-7. German.
• Meule A, Reichenberger J, Blechert J. Development and preliminary validation of the Salzburg Stress Eating Scale. Appetite. 2018 Jan 1;120:442-448. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.10.003. Epub 2017 Oct 3.
• Gueguen MCM, Anllo H, Bonagura D, Kong J, Hafezi S, Palminteri S, Konova AB. Recent Opioid Use Impedes Range Adaptation in Reinforcement Learning in Human Addiction. Biol Psychiatry. 2024 May 15;95(10):974-984. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.12.005. Epub 2023 Dec 13.
• Eisenstein SA, Gredysa DM, Antenor-Dorsey JA, Green L, Arbelaez AM, Koller JM, Black KJ, Perlmutter JS, Moerlein SM, Hershey T. Insulin, Central Dopamine D2 Receptors, and Monetary Reward Discounting in Obesity. PLoS One. 2015 Jul 20;10(7):e0133621. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133621. eCollection 2015.

Helpful Links

• Abler, B. & Kessler, H. (2011). ERQ. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire [Verfahrensdokumentation aus PSYNDEX Tests-Nr. 9006192 und Fragebogen]. In Leibniz-Zentrum für Psychologische Information und Dokumentation (ZPID) (Hrsg.), Elektronisches Testarchiv.
• Janke, S., & Glöckner-Rist, A. (2012). Deutsche Version der Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Zusammenstellung sozialwissenschaftlicher Items und Skalen (ZIS).
• Grimm, Jürgen (Hg.) (2009): State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory nach Spielberger. Deutsche Lang- und Kurzversion.- Methodenforum der Universität Wien. MF-Working Paper 2009/02
• Van Dyck, Z., Herbert, B. M., Happ, C., Kleveman, G. V., & Vögele, C. (2019). IES-2. Deutsche Version der Intuitive Eating Scale 2 [Verfahrensdokumentation und Fragebogen]. In Leibniz-Institut für Psychologie (ZPID) (Hrsg.), Open Test Archive. Trier: ZPI
• Pudel V., Westenhöfer, J. (1989): Fragebogen zum Essverhalten. F-E-V, Hogrefe, Göttingen.
• Roth, M.(2003). Kurzform der Familienklimaskalen für Jugendliche. Zusammenstellung sozialwissenschaftlicher Items und Skalen (ZIS).

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 4, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 29, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): August 21, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 21, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Decision-making; Food intake; Food uncertainty
• Other Study ID Numbers: Buffet

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No