"I feel full with shame": A qualitative perspective on gastric interoceptive sensibility

IF 3.8 2区医学 Q1 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Appetite Pub Date : 2025-09-09 DOI:10.1016/j.appet.2025.108299

L. Stafford, A.C. Pike, C.E.J. Preston

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Abstract

Background

“Am I hungry? Did I overeat at lunch?” Gastric interoception - the sensing, interpretation, and regulation of signals from the gastrointestinal system - is central to daily behavior and homeostasis. Dysfunctional gastric interoception has been proposed as a maintenance factor in both eating disorders and gastrointestinal symptoms. However, no qualitative research has explored how individuals across these groups, and the general population, subjectively experience gastrointestinal signals, known as gastric interoceptive sensibility. This study aimed to investigate how gastric sensations are sensed, interpreted, and regulated among individuals with eating disorders, gastric disorders, and those without such diagnoses, focusing on identifying shared experiences. Methods: Fifteen semi-structured focus groups (n = 96) were conducted. Transcripts underwent hybrid deductive and inductive thematic analysis. Findings: Four key themes were identified. In “Sensations in the Interoceptive Body”, participants described hunger and fullness as physically aversive or reported an absence of cues related to satiation. “Perceiving the Interoceptive Body” captured the noticing, interpreting, attending to, and reacting to sensations of hunger, satiation, and fullness. In “Affective Experiences of the Interoceptive Body”, participants discussed how these sensations influenced emotional states positively, negatively, or not at all. “Responding to the Interoceptive Body” described participants strategies relating to relief-seeking, compensation, acceptance, distraction, and body checking in response to gastric sensations. Discussion: These findings shed light on the nuanced components of gastric interoceptive sensibility and suggest that individuals vary in how they experience and manage gastric signals. This work may inform interoceptive exposure therapies targeting maladaptive interpretations and regulation strategies in eating and gastrointestinal symptoms.

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“我感到非常羞愧”：胃内感受性的定性视角。

背景：“我饿了吗？”我午饭吃多了吗？”胃内感受-感知、解释和调节来自胃肠道系统的信号-是日常行为和体内平衡的核心。胃内感受功能失调被认为是饮食失调和胃肠道症状的维持因素。然而，尚无定性研究探讨这些群体中的个体以及一般人群如何主观地体验胃肠道信号，即胃内感受性。本研究旨在探讨饮食失调、胃失调和无此类诊断的个体是如何感知、解释和调节胃感觉的，重点是确定共同的经历。方法：进行15个半结构化焦点小组（n = 96）。转录本进行了演绎和归纳的混合主题分析。发现：确定了四个关键主题。在“内感受体的感觉”中，参与者将饥饿和饱腹描述为身体上的厌恶，或者报告缺乏与饱腹相关的线索。“感知内感受体”捕捉到对饥饿、饱足和饱腹感的注意、解释、关注和反应。在“内感受体的情感体验”中，参与者讨论了这些感觉如何对情绪状态产生积极、消极或根本没有影响。“对内感受体的反应”描述了参与者对胃感觉的反应中与寻求救济、补偿、接受、分散注意力和身体检查有关的策略。讨论：这些发现揭示了胃内感受性的微妙组成部分，并表明个体在如何体验和管理胃信号方面存在差异。这项工作可能为针对饮食和胃肠道症状的适应性不良解释和调节策略的内感受性暴露疗法提供信息。

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来源期刊

Appetite 医学-行为科学

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

566

审稿时长

13.4 weeks

期刊介绍： Appetite is an international research journal specializing in cultural, social, psychological, sensory and physiological influences on the selection and intake of foods and drinks. It covers normal and disordered eating and drinking and welcomes studies of both human and non-human animal behaviour toward food. Appetite publishes research reports, reviews and commentaries. Thematic special issues appear regularly. From time to time the journal carries abstracts from professional meetings. Submissions to Appetite are expected to be based primarily on observations directly related to the selection and intake of foods and drinks; papers that are primarily focused on topics such as nutrition or obesity will not be considered unless they specifically make a novel scientific contribution to the understanding of appetite in line with the journal's aims and scope.