Perseverative cognition (PC), consisting of worry and rumination, has been consistently linked to a variety of poorer health outcomes, namely via the worsening of stress-induced health risk behaviours. However, research into PC and unhealthy food choice, a key health behaviour, still remains relatively unexplored. In the current pilot investigation, 284 participants were recruited to take part in an online food choice paradigm before completing the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) and the Brief State Rumination Inventory (BSRI). As a reduced availability of unhealthy snacks has been shown to improve snack choice, participants were randomly allocated to either an even condition (a 3:3 ratio of ≤99 kcal and ≥199 kcal snacks) or an uneven condition (a 4:2 ratio in favour of ≤99 kcal snacks). It was hypothesized that higher levels of PC may predict greater instances of poorer snack choices across, or even within, this paradigm. Despite an increase availability of lower calorie snacks leading to a healthier snack choice, both state and trait PC measures did not significantly influence snack choice irrespective of this varying availability. Although, marginal trends were found for higher state PC and higher calorie crisp selections. The current pilot therefore adds to the growing literature advocating for the use of behavioural economic tactics to engender healthier food choices, yet further work is needed to unpick the mediating role of PC (and its components) in snack consumption paradigms.

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Rumination and worry, collectively referred to as perseverative cognition, have been implicated in the increased engagement of several health risk behaviours. The current study aimed to investigate the potential influencing role of these repetitive negative thought cognitions in an online snack paradigm. Participants were randomly assigned to either an even condition (a 3:3 ratio of ≤101 kcal and >201 kcal snacks) or an uneven condition (a 4:2 ratio in favour of ≤101 kcal snacks). Upon the presentation of six images of sweet treats, participants were asked to choose the snack they most wanted to consume “right now”, before completing the Ultra-Brief Penn State Worry Questionnaire (UB-PSWQ) and the brief (5-item) Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). The results showed that the reduced availability of higher calorie snacks significantly improved both snack choice and total calorie consumption. However, despite rumination and worry having no influence on the snack type chosen, higher levels of rumination still led to significantly higher overall calorie consumption. Although, contrary to predictions, higher levels of worry conversely led to significantly lower overall calorie consumption. This study adds to the growing work in the role of perseverative cognition and food consumption, which may aid in informing public health strategies. Further exploration is needed to assess whether rumination directly induces unhealthy eating behaviours or simply exacerbates them.

Research into the cognitive enhancing effects of polyphenols is small but growing. Single doses of the stilbene polyphenol resveratrol can increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) but have failed to improve cognitive performance in young, healthy cohorts. As both CBF and overall energy expenditure are closely related to neural activity, this randomised, double-blind, placebocontrolled, crossover investigation, assessed the metabolic consequences of resveratrol during high cognitive demand via indirect calorimetry (ICa). Twenty-seven, self-reported healthy participants (15 male, 12 female; mean age = 22) who reported themselves free of any food intolerances and any herbal supplementation or prescription medications were recruited for the current study. Participants arrived at the testing facility at 8 a.m. on three separate occasions to complete a serial subtraction demand battery 45 min and 2 and 3 h following administration with 500 mg, 250 mg trans-resveratrol or inert placebo, while connected to an online gas analysis system. A series of within-subjects ANOVAs (with planned comparisons) revealed a significant shift towards higher carbohydrate oxidisation during cognitive demand, as indexed by a significant increase in respiratory exchange ratio (RER) at 45-min and 3-h time points, following administration of 500 mg resveratrol. Despite this, no subsequent resveratrol-related benefits to cognitive performance were observed. These results show that acute supplementation with resveratrol in young, healthy adults can modulate fuel utilization during cognitive demand, yet this does not translate into clear improvements in cognitive performance. This study adds further understanding behind the lack of cognitive effects of resveratrol in young and or healthy individuals. Future research should direct efforts towards assessing the cognitive impact of resveratrol, and other vasoactive polyphenols, in populations with age-related or dietary-induced metabolic deficits.