title: Evidence for attenuated affective processing in obesity.
abstract: Attenuated affective processing is hypothesized to play a role in the development and maintenance of obesity. Using an affective priming task measuring automatic affective processing of verbal stimuli, a group of 30 obese participants in a weight-loss program at the Psychosomatic University Clinic Bonn (M age = 48.3, SD = 10.7) was compared with a group of 25 participants of normal weight (M age = 43.6, SD = 12.5). A smaller affective priming effect was observed for participants with obesity, indicating less pronounced reactions to valenced adjectives. The generally reduced affective processing in obese participants was discussed as a possible factor in the etiology of obesity. Individuals who generally show less pronounced affective reactions to a given stimulus may also react with less negative affect when confronted with weight gain or less positive affect when weight is lost. Consequently, they could be expected to be less motivated to stop overeating or to engage in dieting and will have a higher risk of becoming or staying obese.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy University of Bonn, Germany. i.wegener@gmx.de
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wawrzyniak
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imbierowicz
authors.forename: Rupert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Musch
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Geiser
authors.forename: Florentine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wermter
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liedtke
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires