Calorie Intake for Lean, Normal, and Obese Individuals

We’re always picking on Don when he gets inebriated before anyone else. Jokes of drinking Don under the table surface at every occasion. Don is six foot four inches and weighs one hundred and sixty three pounds. When we all go out to eat, Don eats as much as anyone else. However, Don is not the only lean bloke we know that consumes so many calories and remains so awfully' thin.

Little did we know that this phenomenon was quite normal and occurs frequently in today’s society. Calorie intake does not greatly differ from a lean, normal, and obese individual, regarding the same age group. According to Dictionary.com, a calorie is a unit equal to the kilocalorie, used to express the heat output of an organism and the fuel or energy value of food.

Paul M. Cinciripini conducted a case study in Behavior Modification, where he described his observations of eating habits between different individuals of various sizes. Cinciripini is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Universtiy of Texas Medical Branch, in Galveston, Texas. He has researched coronary prone behavior, smoking stress, behavioral management of chronic pain, and behavioral methods for risk factor reduction in coronary heart disease. His article is titled, “Food Choice and Eating Behavior Among Obese, Lean, and Normal Individuals.”

Paul Cincirpini chose to observe undergraduate students between eighteen and twenty-three years old. He studied 705 students’ calorie intake for a course of 8 weeks. This study was performed in a university cafeteria setting. Students were presented with a buffet consisting of: 3-4 entrees, 2 soups, salad bar, 2-3 vegetables dishes, grilled orders, fresh fruits, cold sandwiches, milk, fruit juices, soda, cookies, and 2-3 desserts.

The results showed that lean males did not differ from normal males in the proportion of calories from different foods. Lean females ate less dairy but more fruit and dessert calories than normal females. Males considered obese ate more red meats and less fruit and dessert calories than normal males. Females classified as obese showed the same patterns as lean females, consuming more desserts and fruit and less dairy calories than normal female.

According to the chart provided in the article, “no differences were found in total calories or menu items within sex and weight groups.” However, males consumed more calories and chose more items than females. There were no differences found among the groups in bite rate, sip rate, and total eating time. In addition, male and female leans engaged in more non-eating activity than the normal group. This observation could account for their slimmer body types.

“The results suggest that food choice, particularly saturated fat, may play a weaker role in the weight status of male lean and female obese subjects than in other groups, and that lean subjects are apt to find food and eating stimuli much less reinforcing than obese subjects.”

I remember eating in the cafeterias back at the unis! All the blokes and sheilas I knew would eat the same thing every time they went, so the variety of foods no longer seems to be important. Another factor that needs to be evaluated is observer pressure. As described, obese and normal weight individuals do not greatly differ in total calories when evaluated in the same environment. This could be due to the fact that obese individuals are self conscious of the amount of food they want to consume. Also, on the counterpart, lean males may eat more to prove they are not picky or light eaters. Females may also eat less than they normally do when they are evaluated.

After reading and evalulating this case study, I was not sure how valid it was until I read about all the other studies. A more extensive study of over 5,000 subjects in nine different settings was conducted. “No overall differences in total calories/meal were found between obese and non-obese subjects, with the exception that obese subjects tended to eat slightly more food in a fast food environment.” The same applies to dessert items; however, both groups prefer high calorie items. These are the same types of conclusions Paul Cinciripini observed.

Paul Cinciripini gives credit to 37 references towards the end of his article, pages 441-443. Each reference is credible and applies directly to his research topic. Therefore, his sources add to the overall validity and creditability of his case study and research.

Cinciripini, Paul. “Food Choice and Eating Behavior Among Obese, Lean, and Normal Individuals.” Behavior Modification. 1984. http://bmo.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/8/3/425.pdf