Food Addiction, Skating on Thin Ice: a Critical Overview of Neuroimaging Findings

Acute high-intensity interval exercise improves food-related cognition in young adults with obesity: An ERP study

Purpose Cognitive function, particularly food-related cognition, is critical for maintaining a healthy weight and preventing the acceleration of obesity. High-Intensity Interval Exercise (HIIE) is an increasingly popular form of exercise and has been shown to improve physical fitness and cognitive function. However, there is limited research on the effects and underlying mechanisms of HIIE on general and food-related cognition among adults with obesity. The aim of the current study was to examine the influence of a single bout of HIIE on food-related cognition among young adults with obesity. Methods Fifteen young men with obesity (BMI = 33.88 ± 4.22, age = 24.60 ± 5.29 years) were recruited. Participants took part in a HIIE condition consisting of 30 minutes of stationary cycle exercise (5-min warm-up, 20-min HIIE and 5-min cool down), and a control session consisting of a time and attention-matched period of sedentary rest in a counterbalanced order. Behavioral (reaction time and accuracy) and event-related potential measures (P3 and the late positive potential, LPP) elicited during a food-related Flanker task were measured after the HIIE and control session. Results Shorter response times were observed following HIIE, regardless of congruency or picture type, with no change in accuracy. Increased P3 and LPP amplitudes were observed following HIIE relative to the control session. Conclusion The findings suggest a single bout of HIIE has a beneficial effect on general and food-related cognition among young adults with obesity, with increased recruitment of cognitive resources to support cognitive control. Future research is warranted to examine the dose-response relationship between acute bouts or longer participation in HIIE on food-related cognition in obesity.

Neurocognitive predictors of food memory in healthy adults - A preregistered analysis

Memory processes have long been known to determine food choices (Rozin & Zellner, 1985) but recognition memory of food and its cognitive, homeostatic and neuroanatomical predictors are still largely understudied. 60 healthy, overweight, non-restrictive eating adults (20 females) took part in a food wanting and subsequent food recognition and lure discrimination task at four time points after a standardized breakfast shake. With advanced tractography of 3 T diffusion-weighted imaging data, we investigated the influence of the uncinate fasciculus' (UF) brain microstructure on the interplay of food wanting and memory processes. The analysis was preregistered in detail and conducted with Bayesian multilevel regression modeling. Target recognition (d') and lure discrimination (LDI) performance of food tended to be higher than of art images while single image food memory accuracy evidently dominated art memory. On this single item level, wanting enhanced recognition accuracy and caloric content enhanced food memory accuracy. The enhancement by reward anticipation was most pronounced during memory encoding. Subjective hunger level did not predict performance on the memory task. The microstructure of the UF did neither evidently affect memory performance outcomes nor moderate the wanting enhancement of the recognition accuracy. Interestingly, female participants outperformed males on the memory task, and individuals with stronger neuroticism showed poorer memory performance. We shed light on to date understudied processes in food decision-making: reward anticipation influenced recognition accuracy and food memory was enhanced by higher caloric content, both effects might shape food decisions. Our findings indicate that brain microstructure does not affect food decision processes in adult populations with overweight. We suggest extending investigation of this interplay to brain activity as well as to populations with eating behaviour disorders.

Psychometric assessment of Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) in Iranian college students

BACKGROUND

Food addiction at the individual level causes physical and mental health problems, impairs individuals' social functioning, and causes dysfunction in the family system. Therefore, a tool to identify this behavioral disorder is one of the health requirements of communities. This research aimed to investigate the psychometric assessment of the Persian translation of Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) in Iranian college students.

METHOD

This research was cross-sectional descriptive, and 451 students were selected by convenience sampling method. Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (YFAS 2.0), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait, reduced (FCQ-T-r) were used to collect data.

RESULTS

The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that single-factor model provides a good fit to data (SRMR = 0.078; CFI = 0.94; NFI = 0.92; IFI = 0.94; RFI = 0.91; GFI = 0.90; RMSEA = 0.078). The YFAS's 2.0 positive correlations with three DASS-21 subscales ranged from 0.30 to 0.39, and Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait, reduced (FCQ-T-r) ranged from 0.58 to 0.72. All correlations were statistically significant, indicating acceptable convergent validity (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The validity of the Persian questionnaire translation has been confirmed. Researchers and specialists can use this scale to diagnose food addiction for research or diagnostic purposes in Iranian society.

Highly processed food addiction: A concept analysis

AIM

This concept analysis aims to clarify the highly processed food addiction (HPFA) concept and discuss its implications for treating obesity.

BACKGROUND

Emerging empirical evidence suggests addictive-like eating may contribute to obesity in some individuals, increasing interest in HPFA's role in obesity. Clarifying the HPFA concept will aid in developing individualized interventions for patients with obesity and HPFA.

DESIGN

This concept analysis followed Walker and Avant's approach. The case studies are of participants in a study that included individuals with and without HPFA (Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0-diagnosed).

DATA SOURCE

We searched PubMed, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Ebscohost databases. Keywords were "food addiction" and "food addiction concept."

REVIEW METHODS

Criteria included recent reviews and empirical studies that measured HPFA and focused on HPFA characteristics and/or treatment implications.

RESULTS

The model case displayed all 11-substance use disorder (SUD) symptoms and clinical significance, supporting a severe HPFA diagnosis. The contrary case was negative for all YFAS 2.0 symptoms and clinical significance and did not eat compulsively or experience cravings. The borderline case met the minimum symptom criteria for severe HPFA but not clinical significance. Clinical interviews may help determine whether such individuals truly exhibit addictive-like eating behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Growing empirical evidence and our case studies support the HPFA concept and the utility of the YFAS/YFAS 2.0 for identifying a distinct subset of individuals with overweight/obesity who may benefit from interventions developed to treat established SUDs. Future research should examine HPFA separately and in relation to obesity and eating disorders and include longitudinal studies and gender-balanced samples.

Neuroanatomical Correlates of Binge-Eating Behavior: At the Roots of Unstoppable Eating

Binge-eating refers to episodes of uncontrolled eating accompanied by a perceived loss of control, which can be common in the general population. Given the profound negative consequences of persistent binge-eating such as weight and eating disorders, it is vital to determine what makes someone more vulnerable than others to engage in such a conduct. A total of 42 normal-weight individuals (21 with binge-eating episodes and 21 without binge-eating episodes) underwent a structural magnetic resonance imaging measurement and Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to assess between-group differences in terms of gray matter volume (GMV), together with self-report impulsivity and binge-eating measures. The results showed binge-eating individuals as characterized by higher trait impulsivity and greater regional GMV in the left middle frontal gyrus: however, the GMV in this region appeared to be positively correlated only with measures of binge-eating but not with trait impulsivity measures. These findings provide novel insights on the neurobiological roots of BE in normal-weight individuals and highlight how this behavior can be associated with brain morphometric changes within prefrontal regions also in a non-clinical population. Overall, this study provides a further characterization of the neural correlates of binge-eating and novel insights into the treatment of its more severe pathological forms.

Clinical binge eating, but not uncontrolled eating, is associated with differences in executive functions: Evidence from meta-analytic findings

•

To study the relationship between executive functions and binge eating behaviors.

•

Executive functions do not differ along non-clinical binge eating patterns.

•

Binge eating disorder might be related with small deficits in executive function.

•

Mood disorders linked with severe binge eating might influence cognitive deficits.

Introduction

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a common psychiatric diagnosis characterized by the presence of episodes of loss of control over food consumption. Understanding the neurocognitive factors associated with binge eating pathology might help to design clinical strategies aimed at preventing or treating BED. However, results in the field are notably heterogeneous. In the current study, we aimed to establish whether binge eating behaviors (both at a clinical and at a non-clinical level) are associated with executive functions.

Methods

We performed a pre-registered meta-analysis to examine the link between executive functions, BED, and uncontrolled eating, a psychobiological construct closely associated with binge eating behaviors. Articles were searched on PubMed and the main exclusion criteria were lack of information about participants’ age or sex distribution or adiposity measurements, studies performed in older populations (age > 65 years old) or studies including participants with purging symptoms.

Results

Relative to healthy controls, patients with BED showed lower performance in executive functions, with a small effect size. At the same time, uncontrolled eating patterns were not associated with differences in executive functions. Neither age nor body mass index (BMI) influenced these results.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that there is no association between performance in executive functions and variations along the non-clinical spectrum of binge eating behaviors. Small deficits in executive functions, however, seem to appear in individuals showing severe binge eating symptoms, that is, individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for BED. We speculate that the close links between BED and emotional distress could partly explain these results.

Is obesity related to enhanced neural reactivity to visual food cues? A review and meta-analysis

Theoretical work suggests that obesity is related to enhanced incentive salience of food cues. However, evidence from both behavioral and neuroimaging studies on the topic is mixed. In this work we review the literature on cue reactivity in obesity and perform a preregistered meta-analysis of studies investigating effects of obesity on brain responses to passive food pictures viewing. Further, we examine whether age influences brain responses to food cues in obesity. In the meta-analysis we included 13 studies of children and adults that investigated group differences (obese vs. lean) in responses to food vs. non-food pictures viewing. While we found no significant differences in the overall meta-analysis, we show that age significantly influences brain response differences to food cues in the left insula and the left fusiform gyrus. In the left insula, obese vs. lean brain differences in response to food cues decreased with age, while in the left fusiform gyrus the pattern was opposite. Our results suggest that there is little evidence for obesity-related differences in responses to food cues and that such differences might be mediated by additional factors that are often not considered.