Obesity is partly driven by unhealthy food choices underpinned by cognitive biases, including approach bias (a tendency to move towards food cues) and delay discounting (a preference for immediate rewards). Cognitive training strategies aimed at modifying these biases, namely, approach-avoidance training (AAT) and episodic future thinking (EFT), may improve food choice. This pilot randomised trial examined the effect of these two trainings, delivered daily for 1 week via smartphone apps, on approach bias for healthy/unhealthy foods, delay discounting for money/food, and hypothetical food choice. Sixty overweight/obese participants (18-45 years) were randomly allocated to AAT, EFT, or control. Outcomes were measured at pretraining, posttraining, and 6-week follow-up. AAT reduced approach bias for unhealthy food and increased healthy food choice. However, EFT did not affect delay discounting or food choice. We conclude that AAT is useful for improving food choice in obesity and that smartphones are a feasible, engaging way to deliver training.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.