Impulsivity and inhibitory control deficits are associated with unhealthy eating in young adults

Inhibitory control mediates the effect of high intensity interval exercise on food choice

Exercise is associated with changes in food consumption and cognitive function. The aim of this study was to examine the immediate effects of acute exercise on appetite, food choices, and cognitive processes, and the mediating role of cognitive functioning, namely inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility and decision making. We compared the effects of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) to a resting condition on appetite and food choices, using visual analogue rating scales and a computerised portion selection task. Mediation analysis was performed with exercise/rest condition as a predictor variable and cognitive measures were entered as mediating variables and food choice measures as outcomes. Young women with low activity levels, aged between 18 and 35 years with a body mass index (BMI) between 18 and 25 kg/m², were recruited. Participants (n = 30) demonstrated improved performance on a Stroop task following HIIE compared to the rest session, indicating enhanced attentional inhibition. Accuracy on an N-back task was significantly higher after HIIE, indicating an improvement in working memory and response times on the N-back task were shorter after HIIE, suggesting increased processing speed. Delay discounting for food (but not money) was reduced after HIEE but there were no significant effects on go/no-go task performance. On the trail-making task (a measure of cognitive flexibility), the time difference between trail B and A was significantly lower after HIIE, compared to rest. HIIE reduced rated enjoyment and ideal portion size selection for high energy dense foods. The relationship between exercise and food choices was mediated by inhibition as assessed by the Stoop task. These results suggest that HIIE leads to cognitive benefits and a reduced preference for high-calorie foods and that an enhancement of attentional inhibition may underlie this relationship.

Electrophysiological and behavioral differences of general and food-specific inhibitory control in people with different levels of intuitive eating

Intuitive eating influences health-related behaviors (including calorie and nutritional intake) that are modulated by inhibitory control, producing implications for physical, mental, and emotional health. However, little is known about the relationship between intuitive eating habits and inhibitory control. Therefore, we tested intuitive eating's influence on measures of general and food-related inhibitory control using behavioral and event-related potentials (N2 and P3 components). We included 40 healthy participants: 23 had a higher level of intuitive eating, and 17 had a lower level. They participated in food-specific go/no-go and general go/no-go tasks for which we recorded electroencephalogram data. As expected, in the food-specific go/no-go task, the P3 component amplitude in the lower intuitive eating group was significantly larger than in the higher intuitive eating group; there were no significant between-group differences in the N2 amplitudes or behavioral measures. Moreover, there were no ERP or behavioral difference between groups in the general go/no-go task. Further research is needed to understand the role of positive eating behaviors in food-specific inhibitory control.

Generalization of food devaluation following food-specific go/no-go training

The benefit of food-specific inhibition training on modulating food valuation and eating behaviors has been established, but generalization to untrained foods is seldomly examined. This study investigated whether stimulus variability and practice order, found to effect generalization in motor learning, can improve generalization following food-specific inhibition training. Ninety-three young adults practiced the Go/No-Go task online in three training conditions: 1) Constant (N = 30): inhibition practiced on one food stimulus; 2) Variable-Blocked (N = 32): inhibition practiced on 6 food stimuli, each in a separate block; and 3) Variable-Random (N = 31): inhibition practiced on 6 food stimuli in random order. Consistent with our hypothesis, the Variable-Random group showed better generalization of inhibition to untrained foods than the Constant and the Variable-Blocked groups immediately after training, demonstrating the benefit of stimulus variability and random practice order. This effect was not present 24 h after training. The Variable-Random group also showed decreased desire to eat untrained foods, exhibiting generalization of food devaluation. However, this effect was only present 24 h after training. The Constant group showed increased desire to eat untrained foods immediately and 24 h after training. The Variable-Blocked group did not differ from either group in the desire to eat to untrained foods, suggesting that random order is important for exposing the benefit of variability. The findings illustrate that presenting various training items in random order can improve generalization of food-specific inhibition training. However, inconsistencies found in the timing of generalization effects and modest effect sizes warrant additional investigation into generalization principles of food-specific inhibition training.

The Role of Anxiety and Depression in the Relationship Among Emotional Eating, Sleep Quality, and Impulsivity

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among sleep quality, impulsivity, anxiety, and depression in individuals with emotional eating behavior. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. The study included 92 individuals (age 31.29 ± 9.17; female, 67.4% [ n = 62]; male, 32.6% [ n = 30]) with symptoms of emotional eating but no previous psychiatric diagnosis or treatment. Participants were administered a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders interview form, a sociodemographic data form, the Emotional Eating Scale, the Beck Depression Scale, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, the Beck Anxiety Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale. Emotional eating is positively correlated with anxiety ( r = 0.377, p = 0.001), depression ( r = 0.375, p = 0.001), impulsivity ( r = 0.250, p = 0.016), and poor sleep quality ( r = 0.478, p = 0.001). Obese individuals (defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher) showed higher emotional eating ( z = -2.552, p = 0.016) and poorer sleep quality ( z = -2.089, p = 0.044) than nonobese individuals, and women showed higher emotional eating ( t = 2116, p = 0.037) and poorer sleep quality ( z = -2537, p = 0.010) than men. Poor sleep quality was associated with emotional eating. In this relationship, poor sleep quality influenced emotional eating through all mediators, including anxiety and depression ( B = 3.491; standardized effect, 0.485; p = 0.001). Poor sleep quality directly influenced emotional eating ( B = 2.806; standardized effect, 0.390; p = 0.001). The findings of the study suggest that emotional eating is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and sleep problems, especially in women. It suggests that the interrelationships of psychological factors associated with emotional eating should be investigated.

Impulsivity and inhibitory control in deficit and non-deficit schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

There is conflicting evidence on impulsivity and its potential relationship with inhibitory control in schizophrenia. This study therefore aimed to identify differences in impulsivity and cognitive and motor inhibition between patients with deficit (DS) and non-deficit (NDS) schizophrenia and healthy controls (HC). We also explored the relationships between impulsivity and different dimensions of inhibitory control in all studied groups.

METHODS

The sample comprised 28 DS patients, 45 NDS patients, and 39 age-matched HC. A neuropsychological battery was used.

RESULTS

DS patients scored lower in venturesomeness, while those with NDS scored higher in impulsiveness compared to HC. In addition, both groups of patients scored higher on measures of cognitive and motor inhibition, including those relatively independent of information processing speed (although the results were slightly different after adjusting for IQ and/or years of education). Correlations between impulsivity and cognitive inhibition emerged in DS patients, while links between impulsivity and motor inhibition were observed in HC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest the presence of deficits in experimentally assessed inhibitory control in schizophrenia patients, with predominant impulsivity in the NDS population. In addition, impulsivity may affect the cognitive control of inhibition in deficit schizophrenia. Nevertheless, due to the preliminary nature of these findings, they require further empirical verification in future research.

Exploring the impact of impulsivity and indulgent consumption on eating patterns of Chinese consumers

There is a growing concern about unhealthy eating habits and their impact on public health, underscoring the importance of research to understand its determinants and encourage healthy food habits. Using behavioural economic insights in researching dietary habit offer advantages beyond the scope of observational studies. Therefore, this paper examines impulsivity, self-indulgence, prudence and their associations with an individual's eating habits and body mass index (BMI). Data were collected from a sample of 487 Chinese participants. Most participants (88%) had good eating habits based on the Healthy Eating Assessment score. The findings of a logistic regression analysis investigating the determinants of individual dietary behaviour based on participants' self-rating of their overall dietary habits indicate that consumers who showed temporal impulsivity for favourite food tend to have poorer habits of eating healthy foods. The results of a multiple linear regression examining the factors that influence eating habits from a composite score of the Healthy Eating Assessment indicate that the score is better with temporal impulsivity for healthy food and poor with temporal impulsivity for unhealthy food. Further, the score decreases with impulsivity measured as low self-control. The control variables, age and gender, are also significant. The findings of a linear regression analysis exploring the determinants of BMI and their association with impulsivity, self-indulgence and prudence indicate that individuals with higher impulsivity measured as low self-control are mostly in the higher BMI category. These findings are important for designing and implementing public health initiatives to promote healthier dietary habits.

Uncontrolled eating is associated with higher impulsiveness, risk taking and novelty-seeking

Previous studies suggest that trait disinhibition as measured by the Three Factor eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) is related to selected measures of impulsivity and risk taking. However, the factor validity of the original trait disinhibition measure has been questioned, and a revised scale of uncontrolled eating consequently developed. To date few studies have revisited the relationship between impulsivity and the uncontrolled and emotional eating scales of the revised TFEQ. In the present study, 283 participants (208 women) completed the revised TFEQ alongside a battery of measures of impulsivity and risk taking in an online study. The total and all subscale scores on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale were significantly associated with scores on the uncontrolled, but not emotional or restrained, TFEQ scale. Likewise, risky behaviour indexed by the average number of pumps per trial on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task were also associated with uncontrolled, but not emotional or restrained, eating, and the same pattern of associations were also found for the novelty, but not intensity, subscales of the Arnetts Inventory of Sensation Seeking. Overall these data suggest that uncontrolled eating is related to wider personality traits of risky decision making, novelty seeking and wider cognitive impulsivity, which may in turn increase of future weight gain.

Exploring the relationship between emotion regulation, inhibitory control, and eating psychopathology in a non-clinical sample

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and deficits in inhibitory control, and the role of these processes in eating psychopathology in a non-clinical sample. We also explored the specificity in which deficits in inhibitory control may underlie eating psychopathology, namely whether they can be conceptualised as context specific or more extensive in nature.

METHOD

Participants were 107 healthy individuals recruited at a major Portuguese university, aged between 18 and 43 years-old (M = 21.23, SD = 4.79). Two computerised neuropsychological tasks (i.e., emotional go/no-go and food go/no-go tasks) were used to assess response inhibition in the presence of general versus context-specific stimuli. A set of self-report measures was used to assess variables of interest such as emotion regulation and eating psychopathology.

RESULTS

Results indicated higher response inhibition deficits among participants with higher difficulties in emotion regulation comparing to those with lower difficulties in emotion regulation, particularly in the context of food-related stimuli. In addition, the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and eating psychopathology was moderated by inhibitory control deficits in both the context of food and pleasant stimuli.

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings highlight inhibitory control as an important process underlying the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and eating psychopathology in non-clinical samples. Findings have important implications for clinical practice and the prevention of eating psychopathology in healthy individuals and individuals with eating disorders.

Higher visceral adipose tissue is associated with decreased memory suppression ability on food-related thoughts: A 1-year prospective ERP study

Memory about food and eating is crucial in regulating appetite and eating behaviors. Successfully stopping vivid imagination of delicious food could help reduce food craving and thus reduce the possibility of further intake. Memory inhibition is a cognitive process that involves intentional suppression of certain memories coming to consciousness. Successful memory suppression derives from inhibitory control. Although considerable work has consistently observed the impairment in motor or response inhibitory control among individuals with obesity, there has been a lack of investigation into the influence of bodyweight status on memory inhibitory control. To fill this gap, current study investigated behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of memory suppression in young women. Using Think/No-Think task and event-related potentials among 47 females, we found that participants with higher visceral adipose tissue (VAT) showed a tendency towards decreased suppression ability for memories related to food but not memories related to nonfood items. In depth analysis showed that decrease in the differences in P2 amplitudes between suppression vs. retrieval of food-related memories mediated the impairment of suppression ability by high VAT. We then tested whether individual differences in memory suppression ability as well as ERP correlates predicted future BMI or VAT change over 1-year follow-up. Results showed that P2 amplitudes when retrieving food-related memory could predict VAT change at 1-year follow-up among participants with healthy BMI. These observations suggest a hypersensitivity inference hypothesis underlying memory control impairments. To be specific, deficits in memory suppression may be in part resulted from elevated sensitivity to the cues coupling with food-related memory. It extends previous studies of memory suppression with food rewards and provides the first evidence to help understand the relationship between inhibitory control on food-related memory and obesity.

Investigating the relationship between inhibitory control and dietary adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus based on subjective and objective measures

BACKGROUND

Dietary management has been recommended as the cornerstone of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management. However, low adherence to dietary recommendations has been identified in both developed and developing countries. Previous research suggests that inhibitory control influences eating behavior, but few studies have been conducted in patients with T2DM. Thus, we aimed to explore the relationship between inhibitory control and dietary adherence among patients with T2DM.

METHODS

A total of 393 patients with T2DM from the endocrinology departments of three tertiary hospitals in China were enrolled by the convenience sampling method. Dietary adherence was measured by the Dietary Behavior Adherence Scale for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Additionally, inhibitory control was subjectively measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A) and objectively assessed by the stop signal task (SST) and the Stroop task. The relationship between inhibitory control and dietary adherence was analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis.

RESULTS

Subjectively measured inhibitory control had a significant predictive effect for dietary adherence after controlling for demographic and clinical variables. Adding the inhibitory control variable to the regression equation resulted in the following values: overall model F (19, 373) = 7.096, p < 0.001, increase in R2 value by 0.069, change in F (1, 373) = 35.219, p < 0.001. Similarly, the performance of the Stroop task had a significant predictive effect for dietary adherence to some foods, i.e., carbohydrate and fat. Adding the Stroop effect variable to the regression equation resulted in the following values: overall model F (19, 81) = 2.848, p = 0.005, increase in R2 value by 0.060, change in F (1, 81) = 8.137, p = 0.006.

CONCLUSIONS

Inhibitory control was a predictor of dietary adherence in patients with T2DM. Future interventions should investigate whether inhibitory control training results in the improvement of dietary adherence in patients with T2DM.

Relationship between attentional bias and stimulus control: An observational study of real-world eating patterns

BACKGROUND

Attentional bias towards food related stimuli has been proposed as a potential target for dieting intervention, however the evidence supporting a relationship between attentional bias and food intake is mixed. Theory holds that food related attentional bias should be positively associated with measures of stimulus-controlled eating, and that implicit processes such as impulsivity moderate this association. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the proposed relationship between food-related attentional bias and stimulus control exists, and whether it is moderated by impulsivity.

METHOD

A community sample of 68 participants completed a food-related attentional bias task and impulsiveness scale during a laboratory visit, after which they recorded their real-world eating in real-time over 14 days using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). During this time, participants also responded to 4-5 randomly timed assessments per day. Food outlet presence (e.g., fast food restaurants, cafes, corner stores etc.) was assessed during both eating and non-eating assessments. EMA data was then used to determine levels of stimulus controlled eating for each participant.

FINDINGS

Substantial variation was seen in both our measure of both food-related attentional bias (Range: 33.9 to 80.0) and in the degree to which the participant's eating could be categorised as being under stimulus control (Range: 0.50 to 0.93). However, food-related attentional bias scores were not a significant independent predictor of stimulus control and nor was this relationship moderated by impulsivity.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to theoretical predictions, we found no evidence that of an association between attentional bias, impulsivity, and stimulus control. More work is needed to better understand the implicit processes underlying eating behaviour in the real-world.

The Interdependent Nature of Mother's and Children's Temperament and Eating Behaviors on Weight

OBJECTIVES

The family environment is an important contextual factor for parent and child weight within families. Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, the current study examined (1) the effect of child and mother temperament (i.e., negative affectivity, effortful control, and impulsivity) on mother and child weight, (2) the effect of mother eating behaviors on mother and child weight, and (3) how temperament might moderate the relationships between mother eating behaviors and mother and child weight.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 220 mother-child dyads with children between 4 and 6 years of age (66.8% classified as low-, 25.9% middle-, and 5.5% high-income). Mothers completed questionnaires on their own temperament and eating behaviors as well as child temperament. Weight measures were assessed in the laboratory for both mother and child.

RESULTS

Mother's negative affectivity and impulsivity were negatively related to mother's weight while children's impulsivity was positively related to children's and mother's weight. Mother's eating behaviors were also positively related to mother's weight. The interaction between child impulsivity and mother eating behaviors was significant; the association of mother eating behaviors with mother weight depended on child impulsivity. Specifically, when children had higher impulsivity, mothers had the highest weight. When children had average or lower impulsivity, mother weight was higher with higher endorsement of unhealthy eating behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that after adjusting for the interdependent nature of temperament traits and weight, child impulsivity is an important factor associated with current weight for both mothers and children. Results also provide important implications for the impact children can have on their mothers.

The association of impulsivity with effects of the ChooseWell 365 workplace nudge intervention on diet and weight

Impulsivity is associated with unhealthy food choices. Nudge interventions in the food environment may be particularly helpful for individuals with high impulsivity. To examine if trait, choice, and action impulsivity were associated with the effectiveness of a workplace-based nudge intervention to improve diet and weight. This was a planned secondary analysis of 487 participants of ChooseWell 365, a randomized controlled trial that tested a 12-month nudge intervention to improve cafeteria purchases among hospital employees. Trait impulsivity was measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Choice and action impulsivity were assessed with delay discounting and response inhibition tasks, respectively. Tertiles were generated for each measure. Multivariable regression models examined the association of impulsivity with cafeteria purchases [Healthy Purchasing Score (HPS)] over 12 months, dietary intake [Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI) score], and body mass index (BMI) measured at 12 months. Interaction terms tested differences in intervention effect by level of impulsivity. Participants with higher trait (p = .02) and choice (p < .001) impulsivity had lower baseline HPS than those with lower impulsivity. Employees of all impulsivity levels increased healthy eating, but higher trait impulsivity was associated with smaller increase in HPS over 12 months (p = .03). In the highest action impulsivity tertile, 12-month BMI increased less for intervention vs. control participants (0.3 vs. 0.5 kg/m2; p-interaction = .04). There were no interaction effects for trait or choice impulsivity. A workplace nudge intervention improved food choices among employees of all impulsivity levels and attenuated weight gain in those with higher action impulsivity.

Behavioral, cognitive, and socioemotional pathways from early childhood adversity to BMI: Evidence from two prospective, longitudinal studies

Childhood adversity is associated with higher adult weight, but few investigations prospectively test mechanisms accounting for this association. Using two socioeconomically high-risk prospective longitudinal investigations, the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA; N = 267; 45.3% female) and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS; n = 2,587; 48.5% female), pathways between childhood adversity and later body mass index (BMI) were tested using impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, and overeating as mediators. Childhood adversity from 0 to 5 years included four types of adversities: greater unpredictability, threat/abuse, deprivation/neglect, and low socioeconomic status. Parents reported on child impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, and overeating. Height and weight were self-reported and measured at 32 and 37 years in MLSRA and at 15 years in FFCWS. FFCWS results indicated that threat, deprivation, and low socioeconomic status predicted greater impulsivity and emotion dysregulation at 5 years, which in turn predicted greater overeating at 9 years and higher BMI z-score at 15 years. Early unpredictability in FFCWS predicted higher BMI through greater impulsivity but not emotion dysregulation at age 5. MLSRA regression results replicated the threat/abuse → emotion dysregulation → overeating → higher BMI pathway. These findings suggest that different dimensions of early adversity may follow both similar and unique pathways to predict BMI.

Age-related differences in food-specific inhibitory control: Electrophysiological and behavioral evidence in healthy aging

The number of older adults in the United States is estimated to nearly double from 52 million to 95 million by 2060. Approximately 80-85% of older adults are diagnosed with a chronic health condition. Many of these chronic health conditions are influenced by diet and physical activity, suggesting improved diet and eating behaviors could improve health-related outcomes. One factor that might improve dietary habits in older adults is food-related inhibitory control. We tested whether food-related inhibitory control, as measured via behavioral data (response time, accuracy) and scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERP; N2 and P3 components), differed between younger and older adults over age 55. Fifty-nine older adults (31 females [52.5%], M_age = 64, SD_age = 7.5) and 114 younger adults (82 females [71.9%], M_age = 20.8) completed two go/no-go tasks, one inhibiting to high-calorie stimuli and one inhibiting to low-calorie stimuli, while electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded. Older adults had slower overall response times than younger adults, but this was not specific to either food task. There was not a significant difference in accuracy between younger and older adults, but both groups' accuracy and response times were significantly better during the high-calorie task than the low-calorie task. For both the N2 and P3 ERP components, younger adults had larger no-go ERP amplitudes than older adults, but this effect was not food-specific, reflecting overall generalized lower inhibitory control processing in older adults. P3 amplitude for the younger adults demonstrated a specific food-related effect (greater P3 amplitude for high-calorie no-go than low-calorie no-go) that was not present for older adults. Findings support previous research demonstrating age-related differences in inhibitory control though those differences may not be specific to inhibiting towards food.

Measuring food-related inhibition with go/no-go tasks: Critical considerations for experimental design

The use of go/no-go tasks to assess inhibitory control over food stimuli is becoming increasingly popular. However, the wide variability in the design of these tasks makes it difficult to fully leverage their results. The goal of this commentary was to provide researchers with crucial aspects to consider when designing food-related go/no-go experiments. We examined 76 studies that used food-themed go/no-go tasks and extracted characteristics related to participant population, methodology, and analysis. Based on our observations of common issues that can influence study conclusions, we stress the importance for researchers to design an appropriate control condition and match stimuli between experimental conditions in terms of emotional and physical properties. We also emphasize that stimuli should be tailored to the participants under study, whether at the individual or group level. To ensure that the task truly measures inhibitory abilities, researchers should promote the establishment of a prepotent response pattern by presenting more go than no-go trials and by using short trials. Researchers should also pre-specify the criteria used to identify potentially invalid data. While go/no-go tasks represent valuable tools for studying food cognition, researchers should choose task parameters carefully and justify their methodological and analytical decisions in order to ensure the validity of results and promote best practices in food-related inhibition research.

Children's eating behaviours and related constructs: conceptual and theoretical foundations and their implications

BACKGROUND

There is a substantial body of research on children's eating behaviours (e.g., food responsiveness and fussiness) and related constructs (e.g., eating in the absence of hunger, appetite self-regulation). This research provides a foundation for understanding children's dietary intakes and healthy eating behaviours, as well as efforts at intervention, whether in relation to food avoidance, overeating and/or trajectories to excess weight gain. The success of these efforts and their associated outcomes is dependent on the theoretical foundation and conceptual clarity of the behaviours and constructs. This, in turn contributes to the coherence and precision of the definitions and measurement of these behaviours and constructs. Limited clarity in these areas ultimately creates uncertainty around the interpretation of findings from research studies and intervention programs. At present there does not appear to be an overarching theoretical framework of children's eating behaviours and associated constructs, or for separate domains of children's eating behaviours/constructs. The main purpose of the present review was to examine the possible theoretical foundations of some of the main current questionnaire and behavioural measures of children's eating behaviours and related constructs.

METHODS

We reviewed the literature on the most prominent measures of children's eating behaviours for use with children aged ~ 0-12 years. We focused on the explanations and justifications for the original design of the measures and whether these included theoretical perspectives, as well as current theoretical interpretations (and difficulties) of the behaviours and constructs.

RESULTS

We found that the most commonly used measures had their foundations in relatively applied or practical concerns rather than theoretical perspectives.

CONCLUSIONS

We concluded, consistent with Lumeng & Fisher (1), that although existing measures have served the field well, to advance the field as a science, and better contribute to knowledge development, increased attention should be directed to the conceptual and theoretical foundations of children's eating behaviours and related constructs. Suggestions for future directions are outlined.

Obesity mechanism after hypothalamic damage: Cohort analysis of neuroimaging, psychological, cognitive, and clinical phenotyping data

OBJECTIVE

The hypothalamus regulates energy homeostasis, and its damage results in severe obesity. We aimed to investigate the multifaceted characteristics of hypothalamic obesity.

METHODS

We performed multidimensional analyses of brain structure/function and psychological and behavioral phenotypes in 29 patients with hypothalamic damage (HD) (craniopharyngioma) and 31 controls (non-functional pituitary adenoma). Patients underwent structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging and completed self-reports and cognitive tasks.

RESULTS

Patients with HD showed significantly higher postoperative weight gain than controls. The HD group also showed significant hypothalamic damage and lower neural activation in the left caudate nucleus in response to food images. The HD group had significantly higher food inattention, lower satiety, and higher restrained eating behavior. Within the HD group, higher restrained eating behavior was significantly associated with lower activation in the bilateral fusiform gyrus.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that hypothalamic damage contributes to weight gain by altering the brain response, attention, satiety, and eating behaviors. The present study proposes novel neuro-psycho-behavioral mechanisms targeted for patients with hypothalamic obesity.

Trait Anxiety and Unhealthy Eating in Adult Women: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Instability

Previous studies have demonstrated the influence of affective states on unhealthy eating. Heightened impulsivity has also been recognized as a risk factor for unhealthy eating. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between trait anxiety and unhealthy eating and to test whether cognitive instability (trait impulsivity component) might mediate this relationship among adult women.

METHOD

The sample was composed of 225 women (M_age = 29.70 ± 9.23; M_{BodyMass Index} = 23.39 ± 4.43). The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) were used. We first conducted a principal components analysis to reduce the dimensionality of the FFQ data, finding four principal components. For our primary analyses, we focused on unhealthy eating. We then conducted a mediation analysis to examine whether trait anxiety was associated with unhealthy eating and, if so, whether cognitive impulsivity mediated this relationship.

RESULTS

Trait anxiety was positively associated with cognitive instability, and cognitive instability was positively associated with unhealthy eating. Trait anxiety was also positively associated with unhealthy eating, but only when controlling for cognitive instability. Consistent with our proposed mediation model, trait anxiety was positively associated with cognitive instability, which in turn predicted unhealthy eating among adult women.

CONCLUSION

Adult women who reported higher levels of trait anxiety experienced higher levels of cognitive instability and engaged in poor dietary behaviors. Identifying the factors related to unhealthy eating represents a crucial step toward findings ways of reducing their impact on food intake and replacing them with more productive ones.

Validation of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire Children (DEBQ-C) version in Turkish preadolescence children

BACKGROUND/OBJECTİVES

It is important to determine Dysfunctional eating behaviors such as dietary restraint and overeating tendencies in order to provide weight management and acquire the right habits in children. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire Children (DEBQ-C) with Turkish preadolescent children.

MATERIALS/METHODS

This research included 440 preadolescents (9.3 ± 6.9 years and 235 girls, 205 boys). The instrument is divided into three subscales, each with 20 items. Emotional eating, restrained eating, and external eating are the three subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess the construct validity of the Turkish version of the DEBQ-C, and Cronbach α values were computed to evaluate the subscale reliabilities. There were 20 observable variables and three latent variables in the hypothesized model.

RESULTS

Fit indices for the hypothesized model were good (×2/degree of freedom = 1.96; root mean square error of approximation = 0.05; comparative fit index = 0.95; goodness of fit index = 0.93). These findings revealed that the Turkish version of the DEBQ-C has a factor structure that was identical to the three-factor structure of the original scale. The Turkish version of the DEBQ-C subscales has internal consistency coefficients ranging from 0.72 (external eating) to 0.86. (emotional eating).

CONCLUSIONS

The DEBQ-C Turkish version is a viable and reliable tool for measuring overeating tendencies in Turkish preadolescents, according to the findings.

Childhood lead exposure and sex-based neurobehavioral functioning in adolescence

It is well documented that childhood lead exposure is associated with long-term decreases in intelligence quotients (IQ). Lesser known is the relationship with neurobehavioral domains, especially in adolescence. This study sought to identify cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between lead exposure and adolescent executive and visual-motor functioning and examine sex-based differences. Participants were 681 children from Jintan, China who had their blood lead levels (BLLs) assessed at age 3-5 years and 12 years old and neurobehavioral functioning assessed through the University of Pennsylvania Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (PennCNB) platform http://www.med.upenn.edu/bbl at 12 years old. Mean BLLs were 6.41 mcg/dl at age 3-5 years and 3.10 mcg/dl at 12. BLLs at 3-5 years and 12 years were used as predictors for the individual neurobehavioral domains in general linear models while controlling for father and mother occupation and education, residence location, age, and adolescent IQ. Models were run separately for males and females. In adjusted models, males BLLs at 3-5 years were associated with increased time to correctly complete tasks in multiple domains including abstraction/flexibility (β = 19.90, 95% CI( 4.26, 35.54) and spatial processing (β = 96.00, 95% CI 6.18, 185.82) at 12 years. For females in adjusted models, BLLs at 3-5 years were associated with increasing time to correctly complete tasks on the episodic memory domain task (β = 34.59, 95% CI 5.33, 63.84) at 12 years. Two adolescent cross-sectional relationships remained in the adjusted models for males only, suggesting a positive association between BLLs and increasing time for correct responses on the attentional domain task (β = 15.08, 95% CI 0.65, 29.51) and decreasing time for correct responses on the episodic memory task (β = -73.49, 95% CI -138.91, -8.06) in males at 12 years. These associations remained with and without controlling for IQ. These results suggest that lead exposure is associated with overall deficits in male and female neurobehavioral functioning, though in different domains and different timing of exposure.

Is online self-regulatory training effective in weight control? A pilot experiment on adolescence obesity during coronavirus-19 lockdown

OBJECTIVE

Studies have shown that obesity is associated with decreased executive function. Impaired executive functions lead to poor self-regulation, which in turn may result in persistence of unhealthy behaviors, including eating behaviors, throughout life. Increasing self-regulation in childhood and adolescence has positive effects on creating healthy behaviors such as reducing unnecessary eating and changing unhealthy eating habits. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate an intervention package based on cognitive self-regulation training in changing eating behaviors and reducing obesity in children and adolescents.

METHODS

Fifty-six students with obesity aged 12-16 years participated in the study in three groups (cognitive self-regulation training [CSRT], diet, and control). The CSRT group received twenty 30-min online training sessions with a diet over 10 weeks. The diet group received only a diet with no other intervention, and the control group did not receive any intervention.

RESULTS

The results of our 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANOVA showed that the CSRT group had a mean BMI decrease of 2.21 (kg/m² ) after ten weeks, and 3.24 (kg/m² ) at the follow-up time. The diet group had a BMI decrease of 0.49 (kg/m² ) at the ten weeks. In addition, the results showed that the CSRT had a significant reduction in eating behaviors such as external eating and emotional eating. However, the other two groups showed no changes in eating behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that online cognitive self-regulation training has been effective in weight loss and eating behaviors. This study shows promising evidence for the efficacy of the online CSRT-training as a weight stabilization intervention in children with obesity.

Association of Impulsivity With Food, Nutrients, and Fitness in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Impulsivity is a psychiatric vulnerability factor strongly associated with substance abuse but also with unhealthy diet. Whether these associations extend to specific nutrients is largely unknown. Therefore, we investigated the longitudinal association between diet, cardiorespiratory fitness, and 2 impulsivity dimensions in a representative sample of south Estonian adolescents and young adults. Impulsivity and dietary intake were measured 3 times in 2 birth cohorts at regular intervals in individuals aged 15 to 33 years.

METHODS

The sample included 2 birth cohorts of the longitudinal Estonian Children Personality Behaviour and Health Study. The analytic sample size consisted of 2883 observations (56.4% females). The primary outcomes were adaptive and maladaptive impulsivity scores measured by an original 24-item Likert-type questionnaire. Impulsivity scores were predicted from the food diaries data converted into nutrient categories. A linear mixed-effects approach was used to model the time dependence between observations.

RESULTS

Lower maladaptive impulsivity was associated with higher cardiorespiratory fitness (β = -.07; 95% CI = -0.12; -0.03). Higher maladaptive impulsivity was associated with lower dietary intake of zinc (β = -.10; -0.15; -0.06) and vegetables (β = -.04; -0.07; -0.01) and higher intake of sodium (β = .06; 0.02; 0.10). Vitamin B6 was positively associated with adaptive impulsivity (β = .04; 0.01; 0.07). Additionally, some of the adjusted models showed significant but weak associations with selenium, alcohol, fish, and cereal products.

CONCLUSIONS

Food choice may affect the neurochemistry and therefore regulate the manifestations of impulsivity. We identified associations between several (micro)nutrients and maladaptive impulsivity.

Spanish Validation of the Self-Perceived Food Literacy Scale: A Five-Factor Model Proposition

Food literacy is a combination of functional, critical, and relational skills that pave the way for navigating the food system properly, taking personally and contextually available resources into account. The aim was to validate the Spanish version of the self-perceived food literacy scale in university students to explore the factorial structure of it and to correlate food literacy with other variables. The sample was composed of 362 Spanish university students (314 women). The full questionnaire was administered online and also assessed adherence to a Mediterranean diet, impulsivity, and health-related quality of life for convergent validity testing purposes. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of the food literacy scale. The Spanish version of the scale showed good indices of internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.894). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a five-factor model that had a better fit index than the seven-factor model of the original scale. External validity was assessed by showing significant correlations with the rest of the variables. Therefore, the Spanish version of the scale is a reliable and valid measure of food literacy. It could be used to promote policies at Spanish universities to improve the food-related behaviors of students.

Bidirectional Associations Between Adiposity and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

BACKGROUND

Theoretical perspectives suggest that adiposity and cognitive function may be bidirectionally associated, but this has not been examined in a large-scale data set. The current investigation aims to fill this gap using a large, representative sample of middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (N = 25 854), the bidirectional hypothesis was examined with 3 indicators of cognitive function (ie, executive function, processing speed, and verbal fluency) and adiposity (ie, waist circumference [WC], body mass index [BMI], and total fat mass). We used multivariate multivariable regression and structural equation modeling to assess the prospective associations between adiposity and cognitive indicators.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed that higher baseline WC was associated with higher Stroop interference at follow-up for both middle-aged (standardized estimate, β = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.06, 0.10) and older adults (β = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04, 0.09). Similarly, higher baseline Stroop interference was also associated with higher follow-up WC in middle-aged (β = 0.08, 95% CI 0.06, 0.10) and older adults (β = 0.03, 95% CI 0.01, 0.06). Effects involving semantic fluency and processing speed were less consistent. The earlier effects were similar to those observed using other adiposity indicators (eg, BMI and total fat mass) and were robust to adjustment for demographics and other cofounders, and when using latent variable modeling of the adiposity variable.

CONCLUSION

Evidence for a bidirectional relationship between adiposity and cognitive function exists, though the associations are most reliable for executive function and primarily evident at midlife.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with sustained neurocognitive function during a prolonged inhibitory control task in young adults: An ERP study

Although beneficial associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive function have been established, whether cardiorespiratory fitness is related to behavioral and neuroelectric indices of performance during a prolonged inhibitory control task remains unknown. Young adults, categorized into High and Low Fitness groups, completed a 60-min Stroop task, while the N1 and P3 components of event-related potentials were measured. The results showed that the High Fitness group demonstrated shorter response times, regardless of the Stroop task congruency or time-on-task, than Low Fitness group. The High Fitness group also exhibited larger P3 amplitudes than the Low Fitness group, but no differences in N1 amplitudes were observed. These findings suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness during young adulthood has beneficial effects on task performance and attention allocation during an inhibitory control task, and these benefits can be sustained for 60 min.

Eating Behaviors, Depressive Symptoms and Lifestyle in University Students in Poland

Young adulthood is the period from the late teens through the twenties and is associated with life transitions that could contribute to the development of obesity. Targeting this group will be critical to reversing the obesity epidemic. The aim of the study was to investigate the eating behaviors and lifestyle of healthcare students in Poland. We enrolled 227 students in the study. Convenience sampling was employed. Diet (Food Frequency Questionnaire), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsivity Scale), and eating behaviors (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) were assessed. One in three students exhibited depressive symptoms, one in four showed low levels of physical activity. More than 40% of the students did not consume vegetables at least once a day, and more than half did not consume fruit. Only approximately 50% of the students ate fish several times a month. There was an association between high scores of specific eating behaviors and body weight, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and consumption of specific product groups (sweets, alcohol). The results of our study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of dietary habits and overweight/obesity in university students, and support the development of programs to promote healthy lifestyles in that population.

Weighing the Risk: Developmental Pathways and Processes Underlying Obesity to Substance Use in Adolescence

Research on co-occurring obesity and substance use in adolescence has grown substantially in the past decade, but questions on the pathways and processes underlying co-occurrence remain. This review first synthesizes empirical findings on the relationship between obesity and substance use (e.g., alcohol, cannabis, tobacco use). Multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks referencing behavioral medicine, neuroscience, psychology, and public health are then used to inform an interdisciplinary, conceptual model focused on pathways and processes by which obesity increases risk of substance use. Recommendations for future research underscore the importance of prospective studies that encompass multiple domains of development. Recommendations for practice include family-based interventions that promote adaptive self-regulation, targeted antibullying or victimization interventions, and increased attention by health professionals on risky behavior associated with adolescent obesity.

The relationship between acute stress and neurophysiological and behavioral measures of food-related inhibitory control: An event-related potential (ERP) study

Stress influences many health-related behaviors including diet and nutrition intake, often resulting in increased calorie intake, fewer healthy eating behaviors, and poorer nutrition. Food intake is modulated by inhibitory control and has important implications for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Yet, little is known about the relationship between stress and food-related inhibitory control. We tested the influence of a short-term experimental stressor on behavioral and event-related potential (ERP; N2 and P3 components) measures of food-related inhibitory control. Ninety-seven healthy participants were randomly assigned to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) (n = 48, 27 females [52.9%]) or a neutral control condition (n = 49, 35 females [70%]) immediately followed by food-specific go/no-go and neutral go/no-go tasks while electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded. Stress levels were successfully manipulated, with heightened self-report and physiological measures (heart rate and systolic blood pressure) of the stress response in individuals who completed the TSST compared to control. As expected, the high calorie food-specific go/no-go task elicited larger N2 amplitude than the neutral task. N2 component amplitude was also significantly larger following the TSST relative to the control task. There were no significant between-group or task differences for P3 amplitude or behavioral measures. Findings suggest heightened N2 amplitude following psychological stress that is not specific to food or inhibition processes and may reflect heightened arousal following stress. Future research in individuals with overweight/obesity or experiencing chronic stress will further clarify the role of stress in food-related inhibitory control.

Effects of go/no-go training on food-related action tendencies, liking and choice

Inhibitory control training effects on behaviour (e.g. 'healthier' food choices) can be driven by changes in affective evaluations of trained stimuli, and theoretical models indicate that changes in action tendencies may be a complementary mechanism. In this preregistered study, we investigated the effects of food-specific go/no-go training on action tendencies, liking and impulsive choices in healthy participants. In the training task, energy-dense foods were assigned to one of three conditions: 100% inhibition (no-go), 0% inhibition (go) or 50% inhibition (control). Automatic action tendencies and liking were measured pre- and post-training for each condition. We found that training did not lead to changes in approach bias towards trained foods (go and no-go relative to control), but we warrant caution in interpreting this finding as there are important limitations to consider for the employed approach-avoidance task. There was only anecdotal evidence for an effect on food liking, but there was evidence for contingency learning during training, and participants were on average less likely to choose a no-go food compared to a control food after training. We discuss these findings from both a methodological and theoretical standpoint and propose that the mechanisms of action behind training effects be investigated further.

Obesity and Gray Matter Volume Assessed by Neuroimaging: A Systematic Review

Obesity has become a major public and individual health problem due to its high worldwide prevalence and its relation with comorbid conditions. According to previous studies, obesity is related to an increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. This systematic review aims to further examine the present state of the art about the association between obesity and gray matter volume (GMV) as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A search was conducted in Pubmed, SCOPUS and Cochrane of those studies released before 1 February 2021 including MRIs to assess the GMVs in obese participants. From this search, 1420 results were obtained, and 34 publications were finally included. Obesity was mainly measured by the body mass index, although other common types of evaluations were used (e.g., waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and plasma leptin levels). The selected neuroimaging analysis methods were voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and cortical thickness (CT), finding 21 and 13 publications, respectively. There were 30 cross-sectional and 2 prospective longitudinal studies, and 2 articles had both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Most studies showed a negative association between obesity and GMV. This would have important public health implications, as obesity prevention could avoid a potential risk of GMV reductions, cognitive impairment and dementia.

Helpless against food cues: the influence of pro- and anti-sugar videos on instrumental food-seeking behaviour in a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer paradigm

OBJECTIVE

External food cues can trigger food seeking by means of associative Stimulus-Outcome-Response learning mechanisms. These mechanisms can contribute to cued overeating. The present study aims at investigating if (cued) food-seeking behaviour can be influenced by pro- and anti-sugar videos.

DESIGN

Participants (N = 81) completed a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) task: in an instrumental training, they learned associations between button presses and resulting sugary or sugar-free snacks. In a subsequent Pavlovian training, the snacks were paired with different cues. During the following transfer test, participants performed free button presses to win snacks while the cues were present or not.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The number of button presses for the different snacks in the transfer test was analysed.

RESULTS

We observed an outcome specific PIT effect, i.e. higher response rates for cued snacks. The videos did not affect the PIT effect. However, exploratory analyses revealed that the anti-sugar video led to fewer button presses for sugary snacks (compared to the pro-sugar video).

CONCLUSION

While snack-seeking behaviour was unaffected by the video's messages in the presence of food cues, in the absence of food cues there was evidence for a reduction of sugary snack choices by the anti-sugar video.

Emotional eating

Emotional Eating (EE) is defined as eating under the influence of negative emotions, and is associated with Eating Disorders, impulsivity, depression and weight gain. However, previous literature is not clear regarding how these variables explain EE. The present study aimed to identify predictors of EE and its relationship to impulsivity, depression, eating style, and weight status in young adults. Sex differences in eating style were examined, and differences in EE between obese/overweight and normal/underweight individuals were tested. Two-hundred college students completed online questionnaires assessing all variables. Low inhibitory control, depression symptoms, female sex, and higher body mass index significantly predicted scores on EE. Obese/overweight and female participants presented increased EE. Correlation analysis evidenced positive associations between EE, Uncontrolled Eating, body mass, and low inhibitory control. Results indicate that EE is related to psychological factors such as impulsivity and depression, and to biological factors, such as sex and body mass.

How can different psychological and behavioural constructs be used to personalise weight management? Development of the diet styles

The aim of this study was first, to explore whether distinct combinations of key psychological and eating-related characteristics, could be identified and, second, whether these styles were related to measures of dieting success such as weight status and the number of previous weight loss attempts. Participants were any person 18 years or older with access to the internet and were recruited through Facebook to complete a 30-min, online survey. The survey included 23 different measures of factors related to personality, eating behaviours and current weight management. 1047 (68.3% of starters) completed the full survey. These people were 82.4% female with a mean age of 42.54 years (SD = 14.07). Factor analysis using Maximum Likelihood Extraction method with Promax rotation resulted in the extraction of 5 novel factors: Temptation (including experiencing cravings and difficulty controlling eating); Foodie (higher engagement and involvement with food); Overthinking (neuroticism, behavioural inhibition and perfectionistic tendencies); Social (extroversion and agreeableness); Impulsivity (impulsivity, lower conscientiousness, higher fun-seeking). Each of the factors associated bivariately, and in the expected direction, with behaviours such as vegetable consumption, frequency of diet attempts, and self-rated health. Each possible diet style is described further and interpreted in the context of existing literature with a focus on how understanding these could help personalise future interventions. Future work will validate this structure in different samples.

Diminished prefrontal cortex activation in patients with binge eating disorder associates with trait impulsivity and improves after impulsivity-focused treatment based on a randomized controlled IMPULS trial

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Persons with binge eating disorder show increased impulsivity.

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We investigated cognitive control to food cues using fNIRS.

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Compared to healthy controls, binge eaters show weaker activation of the prefrontal cortex.

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After behavioral therapy, binge eaters increase prefrontal cortex activation.

Background

Behavioral and cognitive control are vital for healthy eating behavior. Patients with binge eating disorder (BED) suffer under recurrent binge eating episodes accompanied by subjective loss of control that results, among other factors, from increased impulsivity.

Methods

In the current study, we investigated the frontal network using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a food specific go/nogo task to assess response inhibition in 24 patients with BED (BMI range 22.6–59.7 kg/m²) compared to 12 healthy controls (HC) (BMI range 20.9–27 kg/m²). Patients with BED were invited to undergo fNIRS measurements before an impulsivity-focused cognitive behavioral group treatment, directly after this treatment and 3 months afterwards. As this was a planned subgroup analysis of the randomized controlled IMPULS trial, patients with BED were randomized either to the treatment group (n = 14) or to a control group (n = 10). The treatment group received 8 weekly sessions of the IMPULS treatment.

Results

We found a significant response inhibition effect (nogo minus go), in terms of an increased oxygenated hemoglobin response in the bilateral prefrontal cortex in both groups. The greatest response was observed when participants were instructed to go for healthy and withhold their response to unhealthy high caloric food cues. The healthy nogo condition failed to show a significant prefrontal inhibitory response, which was probably related to the task design, as the condition was considered more demanding. BED patients, especially those with higher trait impulsivity, showed a weaker activation of the prefrontal cortex during response inhibition, predominantly in the right hemisphere. Interestingly, three months after the treatment, patients of the treatment group increased their right prefrontal cortex activity during response inhibition. Likewise, increased prefrontal cortex activation correlated with decreased trait impulsivity after treatment.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that patients with BED have limited resources to activate the prefrontal cortex when asked to inhibit a reaction onto food-specific stimuli. However, this effect could be partly driven by differences in BMI between the HC and BED group. Cognitive-behavioral therapy targeting impulsive eating behavior may improve prefrontal cortex recruitment during response inhibition.

Influence of negative mood on restrained eaters' memory suppression of food cues: An event-related potentials study

Negative mood has been found to be a critical trigger for overeating in restrained eaters. The ability to suppress thinking of palatable food cues is crucial to control hedonic eating; nevertheless, little research has been conducted to explore inhibitory control in cognitive processes among restrained eaters. To address this gap, this study primed restrained eaters with negative (n = 23) or neutral emotions (n = 24) and applied a Think/No-think paradigm to explore their retrieval facilitation/suppression ability for food cues, while recording Electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Results indicated that the recall rate of the No-think condition (retrieval suppressing task) was higher than the Think condition (retrieval task). Negative affect did not influence the recall rate, but it did evoke smaller N2 amplitudes, larger P2 and P3 amplitudes, as well as late positive component (LPC) amplitudes. Among these components, P2 evoked by the No-think and Think conditions was larger than the perceptual control condition. Our findings suggested that in negative moods, restrained eaters need to allocate more attentional resources to suppress food cues. The findings further demonstrated that the influence of negative moods appeared at an early stage of cognitive processing and caused a resource depletion in memory suppression. This research provides a neurophysiological basis for understanding emotional influences on the process of restrained eaters' inhibition control for external food cues.

Associations between shopper impulsivity and cyclical food purchasing: Results from a prospective trial of low-income households receiving monthly benefits

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are rapidly depleted after distribution. This phenomenon, known as the benefit cycle, is associated with poor nutrition and health outcomes. Proposed interventions targeting the benefit cycle often focus on impulsive decision-making. However, it remains unclear whether shopper impulsivity is associated with food purchasing behavior. Using data from a prospective trial, we evaluate whether shopper impulsivity is associated with food purchasing behavior before and after households receive nutrition assistance. In this study, 249 low-income households in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area received monthly benefits for three months. Overall impulsivity and impulsivity subtraits of the primary shopper was assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11. Both total food expenditures and expenditures for two specific categories (fruits and vegetables, and foods high in added sugar) were evaluated. Generalized estimating equations were used to model household expenditures as a function of week since benefit distribution, impulsivity, and their interaction. Results showed that during the benefit period, food expenditures were cyclical and patterned by impulsivity. Shoppers with greater overall impulsivity spent $40.62 more in week 1 (p < 0.001). While more impulsive shoppers spent more on foods high in added sugar throughout the month (p < 0.05 for all weeks), no patterns were observed for fruits and vegetables. These findings suggest that greater impulsivity exacerbates cyclical food purchasing behavior. The impact of shopper impulsivity is especially notable for expenditures on foods high in added sugar. SNAP educational interventions to mitigate the benefit cycle may be strengthened by focusing on more impulsive shoppers and on strategies to reduce impulsive purchases of foods high in added sugar.

Emotional reactivity, suppression of emotions and response inhibition in emotional eaters: A multi-method pilot study

OBJECTIVE

Emotional eating has been associated with high emotional reactivity, suppression of negative emotions and inhibitory control difficulties. The current study aimed to address the association of these factors and their combined effect on emotional eating.

METHOD

Twenty-eight participants conducted an emotional Go/Nogo task including pictures of neutral, negative and positive scenes and an additional emotion suppression condition. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded continuously. Emotional eating and habitual emotion suppression were assessed through questionnaires. Emotional reactivity to affective pictures was measured through a visual analogue scale and the amplitude of the electrophysiological late positive potential (LPP). Inhibition parameters were assessed behaviorally (i.e., commission errors) and through event-related potentials of the EEG (i.e., N2/P3-amplitudes).

RESULTS

The trait questionnaire data revealed that emotional eating was not correlated with habitual emotion suppression. During the emotional Go/Nogo paradigm, higher emotional eating scores were positively related to higher LPP amplitudes in response to negative affective scenes. Inhibitory control capacities were not related to emotional eating while watching neutral or negative pictures, but higher emotional eating scores were associated with more commission errors when negative emotions were suppressed.

DISCUSSION

Emotional eating tendencies seem to be related to higher reactivity when confronted with negative affective information and inhibitory control deficits may arise especially when an effort is made to suppress these negative emotions. Therefore, a focus on adaptive emotion regulation in treatments of emotional eating seems to be important; solely targeting inhibitory control capacities may not be sufficient in order to help people with emotional eating to regulate their food intake.

General and specific graphic health warning labels reduce willingness to consume sugar-sweetened beverages

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is associated with obesity and other severe negative health consequences. The present study examined the effectiveness of two types of health warning labels (HWLs) in modulating dietary choices for SSBs: specific HWLs, presenting health consequences associated with consuming SSBs, and general HWLs, presenting health consequences of an unhealthy diet and obesity. While electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded, 63 participants completed a computer-based task in which they were first randomly allocated to view either SBB-specific, general, or non-warning control HWLs. They then viewed images of a range of SSB products, varying on perceived healthiness and tastiness, and rated their willingness to consume (WTC) each one. Linear mixed-effect model analyses revealed that general and specific HWLs both decreased WTC SSBs perceived as tasty, compared to the control condition. For general HWLs, this effect was reduced for SSBs perceived to be healthy, suggesting that specific HWLs may be more effective at reducing SSB consumption. The EEG data showed that SSBs considered unhealthy elicited greater N1 amplitudes, and tasty SSBs elicited greater late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes, possibly reflecting attentional allocation and craving responses, respectively. However, no strong differences between HWL types were found. Taken together, the results suggest that graphic HWLs, both general and specific, have the potential to reduce SSB consumption, but they do not strongly modulate craving-related neural responses to SSBs.

Expectancy to Eat Modulates Cognitive Control and Attention Toward Irrelevant Food and Non-food Images in Healthy Starving Individuals. A Behavioral Study

It is thought that just as hunger itself, the expectancy to eat impacts attention and cognitive control toward food stimuli, but this theory has not been extensively explored at a behavioral level. In order to study the effect of expectancy to eat on attentional and cognitive control mechanisms, 63 healthy fasting participants were presented with an affective priming spatial compatibility Simon task that included both food and object (non-food) distracters. The participants (N = 63) were randomly assigned to two groups: an "immediate expectancy" group made up of participants who expected to eat immediately after the task (N = 31; females = 21; age = 26.8 ± 9.6) and a "delayed expectancy" cohort made up of individuals who expected to eat a few hours later (N = 32; females = 21; age = 25.0 ± 8.0). Slower reaction times (RTs) toward the food and non-food distracters and a more pronounced effect on the RTs in the incompatible condition [i.e., the Simon effect (SE)] were noted in both groups. The effect of the food and non-food distracters on the RTs was more pronounced in the immediate with respect to the delayed expectancy group. The magnitude of the SE for the food and the non-food distracters was also greater in the immediate with respect to the delayed expectancy group. These results seem to indicate that when the expectancy to eat is short, the RTs are delayed, and the SE is more pronounced when food and non-food distracters are presented. Instead, when the expectancy to eat is more distant, the distracters have less of an effect on the RTs and the correspondence effect is smaller. Our results suggest that the expectancy to eat can modulate both attention orienting and cognitive control mechanisms in healthy fasting individuals when distracting details are competing with information processing during goal directed behavior.

Multidimensional elements of impulsivity as shared and unique risk factors for food addiction and alcohol misuse

Food addiction (FA) and alcohol misuse tend to co-occur, which suggests shared factors in the etiology and persistence of these health behaviors. One shared factor that has been linked to both is impulsivity, a multidimensional construct reflecting multiple facets of self-regulatory capacity. However, co-occurrence also raises issues of possible confounding if both domains are not considered concurrently, and the intersection between FA, alcohol misuse, and impulsivity has not been well characterized empirically. Therefore, the current study examined the intersection of FA, alcohol consequences, and multiple indicators of impulsivity. Participants were emerging adults reporting regular heavy episodic drinking recruited from Hamilton, Ontario (N = 730; ages 19.5-23). Participants completed measures of FA, alcohol problems, impulsive personality traits (i.e., Barratt Impulsiveness Scales, UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scales), impulsive choice (i.e., delay discounting), impulsive action (i.e., Go/NoGo task). Findings revealed a significant association between FA and alcohol-related consequences and both shared similar associations with specific impulsive personality traits (Positive and Negative Urgency, Lack of Premeditation, Motor and Attentional Impulsivity). However, alcohol-related consequences were uniquely associated with other impulsive personality traits (Lack of Perseverance, Sensation Seeking, Non-planning impulsivity) and impulsive choice, and FA was uniquely associated with impulsive action. Beyond alcohol-related consequences, FA was associated with additional variance in measures of impulsive personality traits (Positive and Negative Urgency, Lack of Premeditation, Motor Impulsivity, and Attentional Impulsivity) and impulsive action, but not impulsive choice. Overall, the current study reveals several common self-regulatory processes associated with both adverse drinking consequences and FA, and that the risk of inadvertent confounding appears to be limited.

Prisoners of Addictive Cues: Biobehavioral Markers of Overweight and Obese Adults with Food Addiction

Obesity is associated with food and eating addiction (FA), but the biobehavioral markers of this condition are poorly understood. To characterize FA, we recruited 18 healthy controls and overweight/obese adults with (n = 31) and without (n = 17) FA (H-C, FAOB, NFAOB, respectively) to assess alpha brain asymmetry at rest using electroencephalogram; event-related potentials following exposure to high-calorie food (HCF), low-calorie food (LCF), and nonfood (NF) images in a Stroop paradigm; reaction time reflective of the Stroop bias; and symptoms of depression and disordered eating behavior. The FAOB group had the greatest emotional and uncontrollable eating, depressive, and binge-eating symptoms. The FAOB group displayed lower resting left alpha brain asymmetry than that of the NFAOB group. Differently from the other groups, the FAOB group presented attenuated Stroop bias following exposure to HCF relative to NF images, as well as a lower late positive potential component (LPPb; 450-495 ms) in both frontal and occipital regions. In the total cohort, a correlation was found between the Stroop bias and the LPPb amplitude. These results point to biobehavioral hypervigilance in response to addictive food triggers in overweight/obese adults with FA. This resembles other addictive disorders but is absent in overweight/obesity without FA.

Associations between specific components of executive control and eating behaviors in adolescence: A study using objective and subjective measures

A growing literature suggests that executive control (EC; also known as "executive functioning" or "EF") in adolescence may play an important role in the development of key health behaviors, including eating behaviors. However, existing literature has significant limitations in the conceptualization and measurement of EC. The current study aims to address these limitations by employing a multidimensional approach to conceptualizing and measuring adolescent EC, including both objective and subjective measures covering multiple components of EC, and examining links with specific eating behaviors. A community sample of adolescents (N = 208; mean age = 14.5 years) completed a battery of performance-based neuropsychological tasks assessing specific components of EC (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control, flexible shifting), a norm-referenced questionnaire covering problems with specific components of EC in daily life, and a measure assessing key eating behaviors (i.e., uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, cognitive restraint). Objectively-measured adolescent working memory was significantly and uniquely associated with cognitive restraint, with stronger working memory associated with less cognitive restraint. No other associations between performance-based EC tasks and eating behaviors were found. In contrast, using subjective reports of EC, problems with inhibitory control were associated with greater uncontrolled eating, and problems with flexible shifting were associated with greater emotional eating. The results suggest links between specific aspects of EC and specific eating behaviors in adolescence, as well as the potential importance of context for understanding the role of EC in eating behavior. Given evidence that EC is modifiable, the findings have potential implications for novel interventions addressing eating behaviors by targeting EC.

The influence of temperament on stress-induced emotional eating in children

Background

Stress‐induced emotional eating is a risk factor for overweight and obesity. Previous research proposes both the human serotonin transporter gene (5‐HTTLPR) and child's reactive temperament are promising candidates to help explain individual differences in stress‐induced emotional eating and weight. Understanding the association between specific genotypes, reactive temperament factors, and stress‐induced emotional eating may inform the development of personalized and effective treatment for children who may be at risk for overweight and obesity.

Objective

The current study explored the conditional indirect effect of genetic and environmental susceptibility (i.e., the interaction between 5‐HTTLPR and reactive temperament) on weight (as measured by percent body fat) mediated by stress‐induced emotional eating.

Method

One hundred and forty‐seven children (4 to 6 years old; 50.3% female; 22.4% Hispanic), along with their primary caregiver, completed laboratory tasks and questionnaires that assessed the child's reactive temperament, stress‐induced emotional eating, and percent body fat.

Results

The interaction between 5‐HTTLPR and impulsivity as well as with negative affectivity significantly predicted percent body fat. The interaction between 5‐HTTLPR and impulsivity as well as with negative affectivity significantly predicted both total calorie consumption and rate of total calorie consumption. However, the mediation aspect of this statistical model was not supported.

Conclusions

Child reactive temperament is an important indicator of how children approach eating when stressed. Mental health providers may consider prescribing strategies to reduce emotional eating among children with the SL variant and moderate to high impulsivity as well as children with the LL variant and high negative affectivity.

The psychology of obesity: An umbrella review and evidence-based map of the psychological correlates of heavier body weight

Psychological factors may explain why some people develop obesity and others remain a normal weight during their life course. We use an umbrella review approach to build an evidence-based map of the psychological correlates of heavier body weight. Synthesising findings from 42 meta-analyses that have examined associations between psychological factors and heavier body weight, we assessed level of evidence for a range of cognitive, psychosocial and mental health individual difference factors. There is convincing evidence that impaired mental health is associated with heavier body weight and highly suggestive evidence that numerous cognitive factors are associated with heavier body weight. However, the relatively low methodological quality of meta-analyses resulted in lower evidential certainty for most psychosocial factors. Psychological correlates of heavier body weight tended to be small in statistical size and on average, people with obesity were likely to be more psychologically similar than different to people with normal weight. We consider implications for understanding the development of heavier body weight and identifying effective public health interventions to reduce obesity.

Compensatory health beliefs and unhealthy snack consumption in daily life

Compensatory health beliefs (CHBs) are beliefs that an unhealthy behavior (unhealthy eating) can be compensated for by engaging in a healthy behavior (physical activity). Previous research focused on CHBs as rather stable beliefs (trait). Some studies indicated that situation-specific CHBs (state) might be important in situations, in which people are confronted with an unhealthy snack. This study aims to investigate the association between CHBs and unhealthy snack consumption in daily life with a special focus on the distinction between trait and state CHBs. Overall, N = 45 participants (66.7% female; age: 18-45 years, M = 21.9) received a link to an online questionnaire five times daily for seven consecutive days (n = 1575 possible diary entries). They reported unhealthy snack consumption, state and trait CHBs concerning the compensation with subsequent eating behavior and physical activity. The results showed that trait and state CHBs were significantly positively related to unhealthy snack consumption in daily life. Different effects appeared for CHBs concerning the compensation with subsequent eating behavior compared to the compensation with physical activity. This study demonstrates that both, state and trait CHBs are important for unhealthy snack consumption in daily life. Findings emphasize the need for further daily diary approaches to understand the temporal sequence of state CHBs that could further explain the use of CHBs as a maladaptive strategy for unhealthy eating.

Dispositional optimism is associated with weight status, eating behavior, and eating disorders in a general population-based study

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess whether optimism is associated with body mass index (BMI), eating behavior and eating disorders (EDs) in a population-based study.

METHOD

In 2016, a total of 32,805 participants aged ≥18 years from the NutriNet-Santé cohort completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised, assessing dispositional optimism. Height and weight were self-reported. Eating behavior was assessed with the revised 21-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. Risk of EDs was evaluated with the Sick-Control-One-Fat-Food Questionnaire. Linear and Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between optimism, BMI categories, eating behavior and ED risk, controlling for sociodemographic, lifestyle and depressive symptom characteristics.

RESULTS

Our sample was composed of 73.5% women, and the mean age was 55.39 ± 13.70 years. More optimistic participants were less likely to be underweight (OR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.89), or obese, particularly class III obese (BMI ≥40 kg/m² ) (OR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.84) compared with less optimistic individuals. Optimism was negatively associated with cognitive restraint (β = -.07; 95%CI: -0.08; -0.06), emotional eating (β = -.17; 95% CI: -0.19, -0.16) and uncontrolled eating (β = -.10; 95% CI: -0.11, -0.09). In addition, more optimistic participants had a lower risk of EDs (OR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.56, 0.64).

DISCUSSION

Our findings showed that optimism was associated with weight status, eating behavior and risk of EDs in both women and men. The causal structure of the underlying observed association remains unclear and should be further investigated.

The impact of health literacy on college students' psychological disturbances and quality of life: a structural equation modeling analysis

Background

The literature regarding the effect of health literacy on college students’ psychological health and quality of life is scarce. The purpose of conducting this cross-sectional study was to examine the effect of health literacy on certain psychological disturbances (perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and impulsivity) and quality of life of college students.

Methods

A cross-sectional quantitative design was utilized in this study. A total of 310 four-year college students participated in this study. The students completed a demographics questionnaire as well as already established and validated measures of health literacy, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, impulsivity, and quality of life. Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data to explore the effect of health literacy on the psychological disturbances and quality of life.

Results

The results showed that health literacy has a negative effect on three psychological disturbances commonly experienced by college students; perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and impulsivity. In addition, the effect of health literacy on the quality of life was positive.

Conclusion

The proposed conceptual model was supported. College students’ counseling staff could use the findings to better address students’ needs pertinent to psychological health and quality of life. Future research is warranted to develop a more comprehensive model that explains the role of health literacy in determining college students’ psychological health and quality of life.