Palatability and meal patterns.

Abstract

Investigations of palatability have often been confounded by nutritional, pharmacological or methodological problems. The present experiment examined the free-feeding meal patterns of two differentially preferred yet nutritionally equivalent diets. When the two diets were offered sequentially (Experiment 1), no differences were found in meal frequency, meal size, or meal duration. However, when the diets were offered simultaneously in Experiment 2, the preferred diet was consumed more frequently, in larger meals, and at a faster feeding rate than the less preferred diet. Further, the meal patterns in Experiment 2 of the preferred diet were identical with those found for both diets in Experiment 1. Therefore, the meal patterns of two diets with differing palatability depend upon the method of presentation with differences appearing when the diets are offered simultaneously but not when they are offered sequentially.