Overweight children find food more reinforcing and consume more energy than do nonoverweight children

Temple, Jennifer L.; Legierski, Christina M; Giacomelli, April M.; Salvy, Sarah-Jeanne; Epstein, Leonard H.

doi:10.1093/ajcn/87.5.1121

Cited by 187 publications

(207 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Specifically, non-obese individuals who were low in baseline food reinforcement were more likely to sensitize to repeated food exposure, but obese individuals who were high in baseline food reinforcement were more likely to sensitize than obese people who were low in baseline food reinforcement. Although many studies have demonstrated a relationship between weight status and food reinforcement, 4,5,31 ours are among the first to show an increase in food reinforcement or food 'wanting' after repeated intake of a high energy density snack food. The interaction between BMI and baseline level of motivation to eat suggests that there is a difference in what is driving sensitization in these two populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…2,3 In addition, obese individuals find food more reinforcing than non-obese individuals. 4,5 Although food reinforcement is a relatively stable trait, it can be modified depending on the context or types of foods that are used. Food deprivation and food variety reliably increase the reinforcing value of food 6 --9 and high-fat, palatable foods are more reinforcing than healthier, low-fat alternatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sensitization of food reinforcement is related to weight status and baseline food reinforcement

Temple

Epstein

2011

Int J Obes

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BACKGROUND: Food reinforcement is an empirical index of motivation to obtain food. Higher levels of food reinforcement are associated with increased energy intake and increased body weight. Food reinforcement can vary over repeated food presentations, as people may show reduced reinforcing value if they satiate to repeated reinforcers, or they may show sensitization, or an increase in reinforcing value with repeated presentations. Over the past few years, our laboratory has been studying the impact of repeated administration of large portions of high energy density snack foods on food reinforcement. We have shown in three separate studies that the majority of non-obese individuals become satiated after 2 weeks of the same snack food administration, but that a subset of obese individuals sensitize after this same manipulation. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study presented here was to identify predictors of reinforcer satiation or sensitization. SUBJECTS: For the analyses presented here, we combined data sets from three previous studies for a total of 67 adult participants. RESULTS: We found that higher body mass index (BMI) and higher baseline motivation to eat predicted sensitization, and baseline motivation to eat moderated the effects of BMI, such that higher baseline responding for food predicted sensitization in obese individuals, but satiation in non-obese individuals. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that repeated exposure to high energy density snack foods may result in sensitization to those foods, with similar effects as drugs of abuse in susceptible individuals, and that an individual's BMI and baseline responding act as predictors of this response. Keywords: sensitization; food reinforcement; energy intake; motivation; satiation INTRODUCTIONFood is a primary reinforcer that motivates behavior in the absence of learning or conditioning. Reinforcing value of food is determined by how much effort someone will engage in to gain access to food, with the magnitude of food reinforcement proportional to the amount of work performed. 1 Food reinforcement is a predictor of energy intake, with individuals who find food more reinforcing consuming more food than those who find food less reinforcing. 2,3 In addition, obese individuals find food more reinforcing than non-obese individuals. 4,5 Although food reinforcement is a relatively stable trait, it can be modified depending on the context or types of foods that are used. Food deprivation and food variety reliably increase the reinforcing value of food 6 --9 and high-fat, palatable foods are more reinforcing than healthier, low-fat alternatives. 10,11 Our laboratory has demonstrated that repeated exposure to highly palatable food increases food reinforcement in obese individuals, but decreases it in non-obese individuals. 12 --14 One mechanism for the increase in reinforcing value of food in obese individuals is incentive sensitization, which is the process by which repeated exposure to a reinforcer increases motivation to access that reinforcer. Incentive sensit...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitization of food reinforcement is related to weight status and baseline food reinforcement

Temple

Epstein

2011

Int J Obes

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“…Parents may use food to comfort the highly soothable infant, which may over time enhance the reinforcing properties of foods. 65,66 Future research should explore such reciprocal behavioral mechanisms. Increased food reward has been linked to obesity status in children and adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased food reward has been linked to obesity status in children and adults. 65,67 Another possibility is that highly soothable girls are comforted more easily by watching television, which parents might then encourage. Increased television viewing has been linked to high-calorie snack food consumption [68][69][70] and increased obesity risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infant temperament and eating style predict change in standardized weight status and obesity risk at 6 years of age

Faith

Hittner

2010

Int J Obes

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Objective: Little research has addressed the relationships among infant temperament, eating styles and obesity risk. To address this gap, we tested whether infant temperament and eating patterns at the age of 1 year are associated with a greater increase in standardized weight status, and greater obesity risk at 6 years of age. Design: A secondary, prospective analysis of the Colorado Adoption Study was conducted. The main predictor variables were infant temperament (that is, emotionality, activity, attention span-persistence, reaction to food and soothability) and eating domains (that is, reactivity to food, predictable appetite and distractability at mealtime) at the age of 1 year, along with the body mass index (BMI) of biological mothers. The outcome measures were child weight and height (length) assessed at ages 1 through 6 years, from which weight-for-length and BMI were computed along with the standardized indexes (z-scores) and percentiles. Overweight/obesity status was computed at each year as well. Participants: A primarily White sample of 262 boys and 225 girls, assessed at ages 1 through 6 years, along with their mothers. Results: Among boys, greater attention span-persistence was associated with reduced standardized weight status gain (b ¼ À0.15, Po0.05) and reduced obesity risk (odds ratio (OR) ¼ 0.46, P ¼ 0.06). Among girls, greater soothability and negative reaction to food were associated with greater standardized weight status gain (b ¼ 0.19, Po0.01; and b ¼ 0.16, Po0.05, respectively) and increased obesity risk (OR ¼ 3.72, P ¼ 0.03; and OR ¼ 2.81, P ¼ 0.08, respectively). Biological mothers' obesity status predicted obesity risk in boys (OR ¼ 3.07, P ¼ 0.01) and girls (OR ¼ 5.94, P ¼ 0.03). Conclusions: Male infants with less attention span, and female infants with greater soothability or a more negative food reaction, showed greater increases in standardized weight and were more likely to be overweight/obese at the age of 6 years. The role of infant temperament in pediatric obesity onset warrants greater research.

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“…The reward circuitry in the brain is predominantly underpinned by neurotransmission of dopamine and endogenous opioids in the striatum (Lutter & Nestler, 2009), but there is considerable overlap and cross-talk between reward signalling and feeding centres in the hypothalamus (Berthoud, 2004). Gene polymorphisms relating to reward function could infl uence eating behaviour by amplifying the motivation to eat (Temple et al, 2008), altering sensory/hedonic perception of food (Davis et al, 2011), or via weak satiety responsiveness .…”

Section: Adrenergic Receptor Gene Variants -A Role In Polygenic Obesimentioning

confidence: 99%

Obesity and eating behaviour in children and adolescents: Contribution of common gene polymorphisms

Cecil

Dalton

Finlayson

et al. 2012

International Review of Psychiatry

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The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing in many countries and confers risks for early type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. In the presence of potent ' obesogenic ' environments not all children become obese, indicating the presence of susceptibility and resistance. Taking an energy balance approach, susceptibility could be mediated through a failure of appetite regulation leading to increased energy intake or via diminished energy expenditure. Evidence shows that heritability estimates for BMI and body fat are paralleled by similar coeffi cients for energy intake and preferences for dietary fat. Twin studies implicate weak satiety and enhanced food responsiveness as factors determining an increase in BMI. Single gene mutations, for example in the leptin receptor gene, that lead to extreme obesity appear to operate through appetite regulating mechanisms and the phenotypic response involves overconsumption and a failure to inhibit eating. Investigations of robustly characterized common gene variants of fat mass and obesity associated ( FTO ), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ( PPARG ) and melanocortin 4 receptor ( MC4R ) which contribute to variance in BMI also infl uence the variance in appetite factors such as measured energy intake, satiety responsiveness and the intake of palatable energy-dense food. A review of the evidence suggests that susceptibility to childhood obesity involving specifi c allelic variants of certain genes is mediated primarily through food consumption (appetite regulation) rather than through a decrease in activity-related energy expenditure. This conclusion has implications for early detection of susceptibility, and for prevention and management of childhood obesity.

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Overweight children find food more reinforcing and consume more energy than do nonoverweight children

Cited by 187 publications

References 33 publications

Sensitization of food reinforcement is related to weight status and baseline food reinforcement

Sensitization of food reinforcement is related to weight status and baseline food reinforcement

Infant temperament and eating style predict change in standardized weight status and obesity risk at 6 years of age

Obesity and eating behaviour in children and adolescents: Contribution of common gene polymorphisms

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