Attentional bias to food cues in youth with loss of control eating. (1st April 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shank, Lisa M.; Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian; Nelson, Eric E.; Shomaker, Lauren B.; Ranzenhofer, Lisa M.; Hannallah, Louise M.; Field, Sara E.; Vannucci, Anna; Bongiorno, Diana M.; Brady, Sheila M.; Condarco, Tania; Demidowich, Andrew; Kelly, Nichole R.; Cassidy, Omni; Simmons, W. Kyle; Engel, Scott G.; Pine, Daniel S.; Yanovski, Jack A.
• Is Part Of: Appetite. Volume 87(2015)
• Page Start: 68
• Page End: 75
• Publication Date: 2015-04-01
• Subjects: Attentional bias -- Loss of control eating -- Binge eating -- Obesity -- Visual probe task; Food habits -- Periodicals; Appetite -- Periodicals; Appetite disorders -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 306.4613
• DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.11.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0195-6663

Abstract

Highlights: Youth with and without loss of control (LOC) eating completed a visual probe task. LOC status and BMI-z interacted to predict an attentional bias to palatable food. In youth with LOC eating, palatable food bias was positively associated with BMI-z. Overweight youth with LOC eating might benefit from attentional bias modification. Abstract: Emerging data indicate that adults with binge eating may exhibit an attentional bias toward highly palatable foods, which may promote obesogenic eating patterns and excess weight gain. However, it is unknown to what extent youth with loss of control (LOC) eating display a similar bias. We therefore studied 76 youth (14.5 ± 2.3 years; 86.8% female; BMI-z 1.7 ± .73) with ( n = 47) and without ( n = 29) reported LOC eating. Following a breakfast to reduce hunger, youth participated in a computerized visual probe task of sustained attention that assessed reaction time to pairs of pictures consisting of high palatable foods, low palatable foods, and neutral household objects. Although sustained attentional bias did not differ by LOC eating presence and was unrelated to body weight, a two-way interaction between BMI-z and LOC eating was observed ( p = .01), such that only among youth with LOC eating, attentional bias toward high palatable foods versus neutral objects was positively associated with BMI-z. These findings suggest that LOC eating and body weight interact in their association with attentional bias to highly palatable foods cues, and may partially explain the mixed literature linking attentional bias to food cues with excess body weight.