Cephalic insulin release in anorexic women.

Cephalic phase insulin release (CPIR) was examined in women with anorexia nervosa and in lean, age matched controls. Following an overnight fast, a palatable food was presented to subjects and plasma insulin was measured at baseline and every minute for a 10 minute period following the presentation of the food. Elevation in plasma insulin occurred five minutes after food presentation in the anorexic group only. The finding of a significant CPIR in anorexics but not controls was unexpected and tends to rule out a deficient cephalic insulin response as a contributor to the self-starvation observed in anorexia nervosa.