6. Conclusions and Inferences
obesity, dyspepsia, functional gut disorders, meal intolerance, diabetes
OBESITY, METABOLIC SYNDROME, HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA, DIABETES
Postprandial conditioning might have important implications and open relevant research avenues. Several conditions of great health impact, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes or hypercholesterolemia, relate to consumption (or overconsumption) of specific foods, and in this context, aversive conditioning could be a tool to promote an avoidance behaviour.The proof of aversive conditioning sustains the hypothesis of reward conditioning. If feasible, reinforcement of the postprandial reward and food valence could be applied to counteract natural neophobia (i.e., rejection of new or unknown foods) in children [Patients with functional gut disorders, particularly with functional dyspepsia, complain of postprandial symptoms in the absence of a detectable cause and constitute about half of gastrointestinal consultations. Aversive food conditioning might be a mechanism of meal intolerance in these patients. Based on the present data, it could be speculated that an analogous technique could be applied to deconstruct aversive conditioning in these patients [