Food reinforcement, dietary disinhibition and weight gain in nonobese adults. (29th May 2013) - Carr, Katelyn A.
Abstract : Objective: Food reinforcement is cross‐sectionally related to BMI and energy intake in adults, and prospectively predicts weight gain in children, but there has not been any research studying food reinforcement as a predictor of adult weight gain. Design and Methods: This study examined whether the relative reinforcing value of food versus sedentary activities, as measured on a progressive ratio schedule, predicts 12‐month weight gain in a sample of 115 nonobese (BMI < 30) adults. Dietary disinhibition and dietary restraint were also examined as potential moderators of this relationship. Results: In a hierarchical regression controlling for baseline age and weight, dietary hunger, income, sex, and minority status, food reinforcement and predicted weight gain ( P = 0.01) significantly increased the variance from 6.3% to 11.7% ( P = 0.01). Dietary disinhibition moderated this relationship ( P = 0.02) and increased the variance an additional 4.7% ( P = 0.02), such that individuals with high food reinforcement had greater weight gain if they were also high in disinhibition. Conclusions: These results suggest that food reinforcement is a significant contributor to weight change over time, and food reinforcement may have the biggest effect on those who are most responsive to food cues.