Obese adults have visual attention bias for food cue images: evidence for altered reward system function

Castellanos, Emily; Charboneau, Evonne J.; Dietrich, Mary S.; Park, Sohee; Bradley, Brendan P.; Mogg, Karin; Cowan, Ronald L.

doi:10.1038/ijo.2009.138

Cited by 475 publications

(567 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…phobias) and eating behaviours. For example, there is now a body of literature demonstrating that individuals with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, or a proneness to obesity, show a bias toward food, body shape and weight stimuli (see Faunce, 2002 for a review; see also Castellanos et al, 2009). This is consistent with the idea that visual attentional biases are linked to motivational systems (Mogg, Bradley, Miles & Dixon, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Attentional biases towards familiar and unfamiliar foods in children. The role of food neophobia

Maratos

Staples

2015

Appetite

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Attentional biases towards familiar and unfamiliar foods in children. The role of food neophobia

Maratos

Staples

2015

Appetite

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“…by testing correlations) if craving and/or hunger is associated with attention biases for food. Of the thirty reviewed studies, eleven measured craving (46,48,50,51,59,61,62,68,(72)(73)(74) and seventeen assessed hunger (19,44,(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)54,58,(60)(61)(62)(63)65,68,69,72) (with an overlap in seven studies assessing both). Eleven of these studies tested the relation of attention bias and craving or hunger statistically.…”

Section: Attention Bias For Food and Cravingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most studies (n 6) reported a positive association of an early attention process (e.g. direction bias) with selfreported craving or hunger (19,44,46,(48)(49)(50) . Only two studies reported null findings for correlations of an early attention component and craving (51) and/or hunger (47,51) .…”

Section: Attention Bias For Food and Cravingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worry or craving? A selective review of evidence for food-related attention biases in obese individuals, eating-disorder patients, restrained eaters and healthy samples

2014

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Living in an 'obesogenic' environment poses a serious challenge for weight maintenance. However, many people are able to maintain a healthy weight indicating that not everybody is equally susceptible to the temptations of this food environment. The way in which someone perceives and reacts to food cues, that is, cognitive processes, could underlie differences in susceptibility. An attention bias for food could be such a cognitive factor that contributes to overeating. However, an attention bias for food has also been implicated with restrained eating and eating-disorder symptomatology. The primary aim of the present review was to determine whether an attention bias for food is specifically related to obesity while also reviewing evidence for attention biases in eating-disorder patients, restrained eaters and healthy-weight individuals. Another aim was to systematically examine how selective attention for food relates (causally) to eating behaviour. Current empirical evidence on attention bias for food within obese samples, eating-disorder patients, and, even though to a lesser extent, in restrained eaters is contradictory. However, present experimental studies provide relatively consistent evidence that an attention bias for food contributes to subsequent food intake. This review highlights the need to distinguish not only between different (temporal) attention bias components, but also to take different motivations (craving v. worry) and their impact on attentional processing into account. Overall, the current state of research suggests that biased attention could be one important cognitive mechanism by which the food environment tempts us into overeating.Attention bias: Obesity: Craving: Restrained eating: Eating disorder Surrounded by an 'obesogenic' food environment?Obesity and overweight constitute a serious risk for psychological and physical wellbeing (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) . The WHO estimates that 2·8 million people die each year due to the adverse consequences of overweight and obesity (7,8) . Ultimately, obesity is caused by a long-lasting imbalance of energy intake and energy expenditure. This imbalance is mainly caused by excessive food intake (9,10) . Our 'obesogenic' food environment is characterised by an abundance of palatable, high-energy, cheap and convenient food that is constantly available and promoted aggressively (11,12) . Living in such an environment poses a serious challenge for maintaining a healthy weight. However, the majority of individuals have a healthy weight suggesting that not everybody is equally susceptible to the temptations of this obesogenic food environment. What explains these apparent individual differences in susceptibility? One hypothesis is that certain people find high-energy food more attractive and that this increased 'hedonic hunger' (13) leads to craving and (over)eating thereby contributing to weight gain and obesity. Cognitive processes (i.e. the way in which someone processes and perceives food temptations),

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“…Previously, detection and awareness of food within the visual environment would have been considered as a necessary evolutionary adaption to survive (14) ; however, in today's Western environment, such a resourcefulness could be contributing to the current obesity epidemic (15) . Research has suggested that some individuals may have greater attentional bias to food-related visual cues (16)(17)(18) within their environment (for example, being more 'tuned in' or aware of the sight of a food or a related food image) and it is possible that they may be at greater risk of overeating and subsequent weight gain.…”

Section: Incentive Sensitisation: Weight Status: Eye Tracking: Visualmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods have previously been used to examine attention to food-related stimuli in normal weight populations in both a fasted and satiated condition (20)(21)(22) . More recently research has begun to focus on visual attention to food-related stimuli in individuals who are overweight or obese (15,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) . Results from these studies however have been inconsistent and this may be due in part to the methodology used to measure attention.…”

Section: Incentive Sensitisation: Weight Status: Eye Tracking: Visualmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attentional bias to food-related visual cues: is there a role in obesity?

et al. 2014

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The incentive sensitisation model of obesity suggests that modification of the dopaminergic associated reward systems in the brain may result in increased awareness of food-related visual cues present in the current food environment. Having a heightened awareness of these visual food cues may impact on food choices and eating behaviours with those being most aware of or demonstrating greater attention to food-related stimuli potentially being at greater risk of overeating and subsequent weight gain. To date, research related to attentional responses to visual food cues has been both limited and conflicting. Such inconsistent findings may in part be explained by the use of different methodological approaches to measure attentional bias and the impact of other factors such as hunger levels, energy density of visual food cues and individual eating style traits that may influence visual attention to food-related cues outside of weight status alone. This review examines the various methodologies employed to measure attentional bias with a particular focus on the role that attentional processing of food-related visual cues may have in obesity. Based on the findings of this review, it appears that it may be too early to clarify the role visual attention to foodrelated cues may have in obesity. Results however highlight the importance of considering the most appropriate methodology to use when measuring attentional bias and the characteristics of the study populations targeted while interpreting results to date and in designing future studies.Incentive sensitisation: Weight status: Eye tracking: Visual probe: Stroop Prevalence of overweight and obesity has now reached epidemic proportions with more than 1·4 billion adults considered as overweight and of these, over 500 million being obese worldwide (1) . On a fundamental level the cause of obesity is linked to an imbalance of energy intake v. energy expenditure; however, it is now evident that obesity is a multifactorial condition that arises from interactions between genetic and environmental factors (2) . One such factor is the present 'obesogenic' environment that is characterised by a wealth of highly palatable, energy-dense foods (3) . These foods are heavily represented in the visual environment for example, through advertising and it has been suggested that frequent exposure to these forms of food-related cues may impact on eating behaviours and food choices (4)(5)(6) .According to the theory of incentive sensitisation, 'addictive substances' modify reward-related pathways in the brain leading to hypersensitisation of rewardrelated stimuli (7) . This results in increased salience to reward-related stimuli resulting in these stimuli becoming more 'attention grabbing'. It has been proposed that this heightened awareness is the consequence of repeated exposure to a particular stimulus and the association between the stimulus and a rewarding experience, which results in related cues becoming salient. The stimulus related to the rewarding experience may then attract g...

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Obese adults have visual attention bias for food cue images: evidence for altered reward system function

Cited by 475 publications

References 59 publications

Attentional biases towards familiar and unfamiliar foods in children. The role of food neophobia

Attentional biases towards familiar and unfamiliar foods in children. The role of food neophobia

Worry or craving? A selective review of evidence for food-related attention biases in obese individuals, eating-disorder patients, restrained eaters and healthy samples

Attentional bias to food-related visual cues: is there a role in obesity?

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