The Consumption of Beef on Appetite and Cognitive Function

Inclusion Criteria

• Women
• Ages: 18-52 y
• BMI: 25-32 kg/m2
• No metabolic, hormonal, and/or neural conditions/diseases that influence metabolism, appetite, or cognition
• No blood donations to American Red Cross within past 6 months
• No medication that would influence directly appetite or cognition
• No change in any medications (over the past 3 months)
• Non-smoking (for the past year)
• Not pregnant within the past 6 months (or planning to become pregnant during study)
• Have not given birth and/or lactating within the past 6 months
• Normal menstrual cycles between 26-32 days in duration; 5 menstrual cycles within the past 6 months; or able to provide documentation of oral/hormonal contraceptive use which contains low-dose estrogen/progesterone to maintain continuous levels throughout the 28-day cycle (i.e., no placebos)
• Not clinically diagnosed with an eating disorder
• No weight loss/gain (≥10 lb. in the past 6 months)
• No past history of surgical interventions for the treatment of obesity
• No allergies and/or aversions to the study foods, particularly beef
• Consumes ≤ 800 mg caffeine/day
• Of this, ≤260 mg caffeine is consumed prior to lunch (~12 oz. Starbucks coffee)
• Not currently and/or previously on a specific diet including high protein, vegan, vegetarian, etc.
• Willing and able to consume all study foods
• Habitually consumes breakfast, lunch, and dinner >4 days/week
• No history of drug abuse or alcohol abuse (i.e., >14 drinks/week; 1 drink=12 oz. beer; 5 oz. wine; 1.5 oz. liquor)
• Displays a score of 70 (>2%) on the CNS Vital Signs Battery
• Sedentary (i.e., limited purposeful physical activity)
• Willing and able to maintain current inactivity patterns throughout the study
• Willing and able to follow all study procedures
• Generally healthy, as assessed from the medical history questionnaire

Exclusion Criteria

• Men
• Ages: 52 y
• BMI: 32 kg/m2
• Any metabolic, hormonal, and/or neural conditions/diseases that influence metabolism, appetite, or cognition
• Have donated blood to American Red Cross within past 6 months
• Medication that would influence directly appetite or cognition
• Change in medications (over the past 3 months)
• Have smoked in the past year
• Pregnant within the past 6 months (or planning to become pregnant during study)
• Have given birth and/or lactating within the past 6 months
• Abnormal menstrual cycles [not between 26-32 days in duration; or not 5-6 menstrual cycles within the past 6 months; or not able to provide documentation of oral/hormonal contraceptive use which contains low-dose estrogen/progesterone to maintain continuous levels throughout the 28-day cycle (i.e., no placebos)]
• Clinically diagnosed with an eating disorder
• Weight loss/gain (≥10 lb. in the past 6 months)
• Past history of surgical interventions for the treatment of obesity
• Allergies and/or aversions to the study foods, particularly beef
• Consumes > 800 mg caffeine/day
• Or, of caffeine consumed, >260 mg caffeine is consumed prior to lunch (~12 oz. Starbucks coffee)
• Currently and/or previously on a specific diet including high protein, vegan, vegetarian, etc.
• Unwilling and/or unable to consume all study foods
• Habitually consumes breakfast, lunch, and dinner 14 drinks/week; 1 drink=12 oz. beer; 5 oz. wine; 1.5 oz. liquor)
• Displays a score of >4 on the Three Factor Eating Habits Questionnaire (TFEQ)
• Unconventional (atypical) and/or inconsistent sleep patterns
• awake hours not somewhere between 5 am - 11 pm and/or afternoon naps
• does not rate quality of sleep as Fairly to Very Good on the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
• averages 70 (>2%) on the CNS Vital Signs Battery
• Not sedentary (i.e., purposeful physical activity)
• Unwilling and/or unable to maintain current inactivity patterns throughout the study
• Unwilling and/or unable to follow all study procedures
• Not generally healthy, as assessed from the medical history questionnaire