The Magic Table uncovers variability in gastric interoception in response to stress

The high prevalence of obesity and low treatment response in eating disorders highlight the need for a better understanding of eating regulation. Gastric interoception – the perception of signals such as hunger and satiation – plays a key role in aligning food intake with physiological needs. This study investigated how acute stress, emotion regulation difficulties, and eating traits influence gastric interoceptive sensitivity. Ninety-four fasting participants completed both a stress and control task in counterbalanced order across two laboratory sessions. Gastric interoceptive sensitivity was assessed using a novel method, the Magic Table (MT), in which participants ate yogurt from a self-refilling bowl until satiation and fullness. Multi-level modeling evaluated stress effects and moderation by self-reported eating traits and emotion regulation. For validation, 61 participants also completed the established Two-step Water Load Test (WLT-II) and free food consumption. Medium to strong correlations between MT indices, WLT-II, and food intake supported the validity of the MT. While stress had no overall effect on gastric interoception, cross-level interactions showed reduced fullness sensitivity under stress in individuals with high emotion regulation difficulties, restrained, and uncontrolled eating. These findings suggest that this group may be at risk for interoceptive desensitization under stress, highlighting the potential of interoception-focused interventions.