Jessica Werthmann

Bits and pieces : food texture influences food acceptance in young children

BACKGROUND Picky or fussy eating is common in early childhood and associated with a decreased preference for a variety of foods. The aim of the current study was to test experimentally which sensory food feature influences food acceptance, which, in turn is an indication for fussy eating, in young children (32 - 48 months). Another aim was to evaluate if the behavioural measurement of food acceptance is related to parental reports of their childs fussy eating behaviour, parental feeding styles and childrens BMI. METHOD In a repeated-measures-design, three sensory features were manipulated separately (i.e., colour, texture and taste) while keeping the other two features constant. The baseline measurement consisted of a well-liked yoghurt, which was presented before each manipulation variant. The number of spoons that children (N = 32) consumed from each variant were registered as behavioural indication for food acceptance. Parental reports of childrens eating behaviour and parental feeding styles; and childrens BMI were also measured. RESULTS The manipulation of food texture caused a significant decrease in intake. Colour and taste manipulations of the yoghurt did not affect childrens intake. Parental reports of childrens fussy eating behaviour and parental feeding styles were not related to the behavioural observation of food acceptance. The behavioural measurement of food acceptance and parental accounts of fussy eating were not related to childrens BMI. CONCLUSION Food texture but not taste or colour alternations affected food acceptance, at least when consuming variations of a well-liked yoghurt. This knowledge is important for further research on picky-eating interventions. Parental reports of fussy eating did not concur with the behavioural observation of food acceptance. Further research is warranted to test whether these findings generalize to other food types.

Desire lies in the eyes : attention bias for chocolate is related to craving and self-endorsed eating permission

The present study tested the impact of experimentally manipulated perceived availability of chocolate on attention for chocolate stimuli, momentary (state) craving for chocolate and consumption of chocolate in healthy weight female students. It was hypothesized that eating forbiddance would be related to attentional avoidance (thus diminished attention focus on food cues in an attempt to prevent oneself from processing food cues) and that eating motivation would be related to attentional approach (thus maintained attentional focus on food cues). High chronic chocolate cravers (n=40) and low cravers (n=40) participated in one of four perceived availability contexts (required to eat, forbidden to eat, individual choice to eat, and 50% chance to eat) following a brief chocolate exposure. Attention for chocolate was measured using eye-tracking; momentary craving from self-report; and the consumption of chocolate was assessed from direct observation. The perceived availability of chocolate did not significantly influence attention allocation for chocolate stimuli, momentary craving or chocolate intake. High chocolate cravers reported significantly higher momentary craving for chocolate (d=1.29, p<.001), and showed longer initial duration of gaze on chocolate, than low cravers (d=0.63, p<.01). In contrast, participants who indicated during the manipulation check that they would not have permitted themselves to eat chocolate, irrespective of the availability instruction they received, showed significantly less craving (d=0.96, p<.01) and reduced total dwell time for chocolate stimuli than participants who permitted themselves to eat chocolate (d=0.53, p<.05). Thus, this study provides evidence that attention biases for food stimuli reflect inter-individual differences in eating motivation--such as chronic chocolate craving, and self-endorsed eating permission.

The role of attentional bias in obesity and addiction

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate the following claims derived from contemporary theoretical models of attentional bias (AB) for food- and drug-related stimuli: (a) AB is a characteristic feature of obesity and addiction, (b) AB predicts future behavior, (c) AB exerts a causal influence on consummatory behavior, and (d) AB reflects appetitive motivational processes. METHOD A focused discussion of the relevant literature is presented. RESULTS The available evidence reveals inconsistencies with the aforementioned claims. Specifically, AB is not consistently associated with individual differences in body weight or drug use, AB does not consistently predict or influence distal consummatory behavior, and AB may be influenced by both appetitive and aversive motivational processes. These insights are synthesized into a theoretical account that claims that AB for food- and drug-related stimuli arises from momentary changes in evaluations of those stimuli that can be either positive (when the incentive value of the food or drug is high), negative (when individuals have a goal to change their behavior, and those stimuli are perceived as aversive), or both (when individuals experience motivational conflict, or ambivalence). CONCLUSIONS The proposed theoretical synthesis may account for the contributions of appetitive and aversive motivational processes involved in self-regulatory conflicts to AB, and it yields testable predictions about the conditions under which AB should predict and have a causal influence on future consummatory behavior. This has implications for the prediction and modification of unhealthy behaviors and associated disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record

Attention bias for food is independent of restraint in healthy weight individuals—An eye tracking study

OBJECTIVE Restrained eating style and weight status are highly correlated. Though both have been associated with an attentional bias for food cues, in prior research restraint and BMI were often confounded. The aim of the present study was to determine the existence and nature of an attention bias for food cues in healthy-weight female restrained and unrestrained eaters, when matching the two groups on BMI. METHOD Attention biases for food cues were measured by recordings of eye movements during a visual probe task with pictorial food versus non-food stimuli. Healthy weight high restrained (n = 24) and low restrained eaters (n = 21) were matched on BMI in an attempt to unconfound the effects of restraint and weight on attention allocation patterns. RESULTS All participants showed elevated attention biases for food stimuli in comparison to neutral stimuli, independent of restraint status. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that attention biases for food-related cues are common for healthy weight women and show that restrained eating (per se) is not related to biased processing of food stimuli, at least not in healthy weight participants.

Looking at food in sad mood: do attention biases lead emotional eaters into overeating after a negative mood induction?

BACKGROUND Emotional eating is associated with overeating and the development of obesity. Yet, empirical evidence for individual (trait) differences in emotional eating and cognitive mechanisms that contribute to eating during sad mood remain equivocal. AIM The aim of this study was to test if attention bias for food moderates the effect of self-reported emotional eating during sad mood (vs neutral mood) on actual food intake. It was expected that emotional eating is predictive of elevated attention for food and higher food intake after an experimentally induced sad mood and that attentional maintenance on food predicts food intake during a sad versus a neutral mood. METHOD Participants (N = 85) were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental mood induction conditions (sad/neutral). Attentional biases for high caloric foods were measured by eye tracking during a visual probe task with pictorial food and neutral stimuli. Self-reported emotional eating was assessed with the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and ad libitum food intake was tested by a disguised food offer. RESULTS Hierarchical multivariate regression modeling showed that self-reported emotional eating did not account for changes in attention allocation for food or food intake in either condition. Yet, attention maintenance on food cues was significantly related to increased intake specifically in the neutral condition, but not in the sad mood condition. DISCUSSION The current findings show that self-reported emotional eating (based on the DEBQ) might not validly predict who overeats when sad, at least not in a laboratory setting with healthy women. Results further suggest that attention maintenance on food relates to eating motivation when in a neutral affective state, and might therefore be a cognitive mechanism contributing to increased food intake in general, but maybe not during sad mood.

Can(not) take my eyes off food. Attention bias, craving and overeating

According to theoretical models biased attention for food cues is related to craving and food (over)consumption. In three studies we assessed attention biases towards food cues by eye-movement recordings. Results indicated that overweight/obese individuals show a distinctive pattern of attentional bias for food that was associated with craving: Overweight participants directed their first gaze more often towards food pictures than healthy weight individuals, but subsequently showed reduced maintenance of attention on these pictures. The initial orientation bias towards food was positively correlated with food intake for overweight participants (study 1). Restrained and unrestrained eaters with a healthy weight did not differ in their attention allocation towards food. Instead, all participants showed an attentional bias for food (study 2). Manipulation of the expectancy to consume chocolate did not influence chocolate cravers’ attention bias towards chocolate cues or chocolate intake (study 3). After a craving induction, chocolate cravers showed an attention bias for chocolate cues and consumed more chocolate irrespective of the expected availability of chocolate. These results indicate that attention biases towards food are related to craving and are potentially associated with overweight and excessive food consumption.

Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills:

Aims: A popular belief is that alcohol improves the ability to speak in a foreign language. The effect of acute alcohol consumption on perceived foreign language performance and actual foreign language performance in foreign language learners has not been investigated. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-rated and observer-rated verbal foreign language performance in participants who have recently learned this language. Methods: Fifty native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were randomized to receive either a low dose of alcohol or a control beverage that contained no alcohol. Following the experimental manipulation, participants took part in a standardized discussion in Dutch with a blinded experimenter. The discussion was audio-recorded and foreign language skills were subsequently rated by two native Dutch speakers who were blind to the experimental condition (observer-rating). Participants also rated their own individual Dutch language skills during the discussion (self-rating). Results: Participants who consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared with those who did not consume alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on self-ratings of Dutch language skills. Conclusions: Acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who have recently learned that language.

Randomised controlled feasibility trial of real versus sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment in adults with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa: the TIARA study

Objective Treatment options for severe, enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN) are limited. Non-invasive neuromodulation is a promising emerging intervention. Our study is a feasibility randomised controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in individuals with SE-AN, which aims to inform the design of a future large-scale trial. Design Double-blind, parallel group, two-arm, sham-controlled trial. Setting Specialist eating disorders centre. Participants Community-dwelling people with anorexia nervosa, an illness duration of ≥3 years and at least one previous completed treatment. Interventions Participants received 20 sessions (administered over 4 weeks) of MRI-guided real or sham high-frequency rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in addition to treatment-as-usual. Outcomes Primary outcomes were recruitment, attendance and retention rates. Secondary outcomes included body mass index (BMI), eating disorder symptoms, mood, quality of life and rTMS safety and tolerability. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-treatment and follow-up (ie, at 0 month, 1 month and 4 months post-randomisation). Results Thirty-four participants (17 per group) were randomly allocated to real or sham rTMS. One participant per group was withdrawn prior to the intervention due to safety concerns. Two participants (both receiving sham) did not complete the treatment. rTMS was safe and well tolerated. Between-group effect sizes of change scores (baseline to follow-up) were small for BMI (d=0.2, 95% CI −0.49 to 0.90) and eating disorder symptoms (d=0.1, 95% CI −0.60 to 0.79), medium for quality of life and moderate to large (d=0.61 to 1.0) for mood outcomes, all favouring rTMS over sham. Conclusions The treatment protocol is feasible and acceptable to participants. Outcomes provide preliminary evidence for the therapeutic potential of rTMS in SE-AN. Largest effects were observed on variables assessing mood. This study supports the need for a larger confirmatory trial to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-session rTMS in SE-AN. Future studies should include a longer follow-up period and an assessment of cost-effectiveness. Trial registration number ISRCTN14329415; Pre-results.