Compression of the animal stomach gives rise to vagal discharges that could signal satiety. To test a noninvasive method of inducing compression of the human stomach, we first employed extra-abdominal pressure levels of 0, 10, and 20 Torr, counterbalanced for sequence, in six lean and obese subjects. A large blood pressure cuff was wrapped around the abdomen of the subject with the air bladder over the epigastrium. The bladder was inflated before ingestion of a liquid meal by the subject until satiated. Relative to 0 Torr, pressures of 10 and 20 Torr significantly reduced spontaneous food intake (P less than 0.03) without producing discomfort. In a second study, extra-abdominal pressure of 20 Torr also raised intragastric pressure by a mean of 5.5 Torr (P less than 0.03). In a third study, extra-abdominal pressure of 20 Torr did not alter gastric emptying rate during meal ingestion but ultimately enhanced emptying rate when this pressure was maintained for greater than 100 min after meal completion (P less than 0.01).