Research informing ZULO
The science of cravings, behavioural responses and life beyond GLP-1 treatment.
Explore the researchCravings can be measured. Targeted behavioural strategies have reduced craving intensity in controlled studies. GLP-1 withdrawal trials highlight the challenge of weight maintenance. Together, these research areas inform ZULO’s focus on everyday craving support.
Evidence synthesis
A meta-analysis found small-to-medium effects of targeted interventions on craving and food intake, with relatively robust evidence for cognitive strategies targeting subjective craving.
Wolz et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2020
Read study recordBrief guided support
A randomised study of 108 participants found that guided decentering reduced chocolate-craving strength compared with a mind-wandering control.
Wilson et al. · Appetite · 2021
Read study recordEveryday craving moments
In a controlled diary study of 48 women, a handheld visual-noise task was associated with less intense cravings and a lower likelihood of eating afterwards.
Kemps & Tiggemann · Appetite · 2013
Read study record19 selected papers across six topics
Understanding hunger, specific food cravings and persistent food thoughts—and how researchers measure them.
Craving is often distinguished by its intensity and focus on a particular food. Hunger and craving can occur together, but hunger is not required for a craving.
Meule · Current Nutrition Reports
A research review examining food deprivation and craving. Hunger and craving can coexist; the review does not establish what proportion of cravings occur without hunger.
The Psychology of Food Cravings: the Role of Food Deprivation.
DOI: 10.1007/s13668-020-00326-0
The five-item Food Noise Questionnaire showed strong reliability in an analysis of 396 participants, providing a way to study persistent, intrusive food thoughts.
Diktas et al. · Obesity
396 participants were analysed. People taking antiobesity medication were excluded. Clinical utility requires further evaluation.
Development and validation of the Food Noise Questionnaire.
DOI: 10.1002/oby.24216
How treatment can affect hunger, fullness and food cravings. Individual experiences and study results vary.
Semaglutide reduced hunger and food cravings, improved control of eating, and reduced intake at a test meal compared with placebo.
Friedrichsen et al. · Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism
A 20-week randomised trial in 72 adults with obesity. Outcomes describe semaglutide during treatment; the study did not examine medication withdrawal.
The effect of semaglutide 2.4 mg once weekly on energy intake, appetite, control of eating, and gastric emptying in adults with obesity.
DOI: 10.1111/dom.14280
In a small cohort taking semaglutide or tirzepatide, weight decreased but overall food cravings did not significantly improve.
Babazadeh et al. · Obesity Pillars
The CRAVE study followed an analytic sample of 28 participants for 24 weeks. Its observational design, small sample and attrition make the findings exploratory.
Changes in food cravings, dietary quality, body composition, and dietary intake during GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy: The CRAVE study.
DOI: 10.1016/j.obpill.2026.100292
Withdrawal trials document the weight-maintenance challenge. Emerging studies examine structured support after treatment.
In the STEP 1 extension, the semaglutide group regained approximately two-thirds of its prior weight loss within a year of stopping medication and structured lifestyle support.
Wilding et al. · Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism
Exploratory extension analyses included 327 participants. Both medication and structured lifestyle support stopped. Outcomes were weight and cardiometabolic measures, rather than the timing or severity of craving rebound.
Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension.
DOI: 10.1111/dom.14725
In SURMOUNT-4, participants switched to placebo gained 14% relative to their weight at withdrawal over the next year; those continuing tirzepatide lost more weight.
Aronne et al. · JAMA
670 participants were randomised after a 36-week tirzepatide lead-in. The 14% gain was relative to weight at randomisation over the next 52 weeks. The trial assessed medication continuation versus withdrawal, not a behavioural intervention.
Continued Treatment With Tirzepatide for Maintenance of Weight Reduction in Adults With Obesity: The SURMOUNT-4 Randomized Clinical Trial.
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.24945
In a four-month pilot involving 39 people, groups offered Noom or medically tailored meals had less estimated weight gain than usual care after stopping GLP-1 therapy.
Hollis-Hansen et al. · Obesity Science & Practice
A four-month feasibility trial with 39 participants. Weight was an exploratory outcome; larger, longer trials are needed to confirm the finding. The interventions were Noom and medically tailored meals.
Preventing Weight Regain After Glucagon-Like Peptide‑1 Therapy Discontinuation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
DOI: 10.1002/osp4.70194
Studies of distraction, mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal examine how specific strategies affect cravings and eating.
In 108 participants, two- and four-minute guided decentering exercises reduced chocolate-craving strength compared with a mind-wandering control. Decentering involves stepping back from craving-related thoughts and feelings.
Wilson, Senior & Tapper · Appetite
Participants were randomised to decentering, visualisation or mind-wandering. Effects were measured immediately around chocolate-cue exposure and a craving induction. The study tested two- and four-minute exercises, not 30-second sessions or long-term outcomes.
The effect of visualisation and mindfulness-based decentering on chocolate craving.
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105278
In a four-week diary study of 48 undergraduate women, those using a handheld dynamic visual-noise display during cravings reported less intense cravings and were less likely to eat afterwards than controls.
Kemps & Tiggemann · Appetite
After a two-week baseline, half the participants used the display whenever a craving occurred. Outcomes came from self-reported diaries in a small, specific population. The findings concern this visual task, rather than games or screen use generally.
Hand-held dynamic visual noise reduces naturally occurring food cravings and craving-related consumption.
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.05.001
A week-long study of 31 undergraduates found lower immediate craving ratings after three minutes of Tetris, across food and other craving categories.
Skorka-Brown et al. · Addictive Behaviors
31 undergraduates were followed for one week. The intervention used three-minute Tetris sessions and self-reported cravings across several categories. The study did not test 30-second sessions or long-term outcomes.
Playing Tetris decreases drug and other cravings in real world settings.
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.07.020
Across 69 laboratory studies, targeted interventions showed small-to-medium benefits. Cognitive strategies had relatively robust evidence for subjective craving.
Wolz et al. · Obesity Reviews
69 laboratory studies, with separate analyses of subjective craving and food intake. Effects varied by intervention; transfer to daily life and long-term effectiveness require further study.
Laboratory-based interventions targeting food craving: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
DOI: 10.1111/obr.12996
Across 24 studies involving 1,920 participants, mindfulness interventions produced a small reduction in craving intensity, but not a significant change in frequency.
Allameh et al. · BMC Psychology
24 studies with 1,920 participants. Evidence certainty was low. The reduction concerned craving intensity; craving frequency did not change significantly.
Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on food craving in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-025-03307-6
Mindfulness and mindful eating showed a small reduction in food intake, but no statistically significant effect on appetite.
Ahmadyar et al. · Clinical Psychology Review
The review included 41 articles. Food intake fell modestly, while appetite did not change significantly. Effects were larger in laboratory settings, and stronger real-world evidence is needed.
Effects of mindfulness and mindful eating on food intake and appetite: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2026.102780
In a study of 72 healthy participants, those trained to downregulate desire reported lower immediate desire to eat both trained and untrained foods after a single session.
Saad & Weinbach · Appetite
72 healthy participants were assigned to downregulation or upregulation, with no neutral control group. Results followed a single session; long-term effects, safety and applicability to other populations remain unestablished.
Cognitive reappraisal of food craving: Generalization and best implementation strategies.
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2025.108374
Supporting evidence · Mobile delivery
A study enrolling 104 women with overweight or obesity reported reductions in craving-related eating and self-reported overeating following a self-paced mobile mindful-eating programme.
Mason et al. · Journal of Behavioral Medicine
The programme contained 28 days of training; 78 participants completed it within seven months. There was no control group, so the observed changes cannot be attributed to the app alone. This is supporting evidence for feasibility, rather than a controlled efficacy result.
Testing a mobile mindful eating intervention targeting craving-related eating: feasibility and proof of concept.
DOI: 10.1007/s10865-017-9884-5
Two distinct research areas: responses to food cues and the effects of repeatedly imagining consumption.
Food-cue reactivity and craving predicted subsequent eating and weight-related outcomes. Visual food cues were associated with effects comparable to real-food cues.
Boswell & Kober · Obesity Reviews
This meta-analysis examined food-cue reactivity and craving as predictors of eating and weight-related outcomes. Viewing food cues is distinct from repeatedly imagining consumption; simulated ordering was not evaluated.
Food cue reactivity and craving predict eating and weight gain: a meta-analytic review.
DOI: 10.1111/obr.12354
Across five experiments, repeatedly imagining eating a specific food reduced subsequent consumption of that food under laboratory conditions.
Morewedge et al. · Science
Five laboratory experiments tested repeated imagined consumption of a specific food. This differs from viewing food images or simulating an order. Lasting benefits were not established.
Thought for food: imagined consumption reduces actual consumption.
DOI: 10.1126/science.1195701
Everyday conditions can influence eating beyond the moment an urge appears.
In 80 adults with overweight who habitually slept too little, a two-week sleep-extension intervention reduced daily energy intake compared with controls.
Tasali et al. · JAMA Internal Medicine
80 adults with overweight who habitually slept less than 6.5 hours per night. The intervention lasted two weeks and assessed energy intake, not craving reduction or long-term weight maintenance.
Effect of Sleep Extension on Objectively Assessed Energy Intake Among Adults With Overweight in Real-life Settings: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8098
A 15-minute brisk walk reduced immediate sugary-snack urges compared with a passive control in 47 adults with overweight.
Ledochowski et al. · PLOS ONE
47 adults with overweight who consumed sugary snacks completed walking and passive-control conditions after three days of chocolate abstinence. Findings concern immediate urges, not sustained craving control.
Acute effects of brisk walking on sugary snack cravings in overweight people, affect and responses to a manipulated stress situation and to a sugary snack cue: a crossover study.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119278
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