Eating behavior in response to food-cue exposure: examining the cue-reactivity and counteractive-control models.
Many studies have demonstrated that those high in weight-related concerns eat more after food-cue exposure, which is consistent with predictions of the cue-reactivity model. However, the counteractive-control model predicts that exposure to fattening foods activates dieting-related goals and behavior in weight-concerned individuals. Although these models seem incongruous, the authors hypothesized that the salience of the cue could represent a critical factor in determining which model is activated. The authors predicted that attending to salient food cues would result in increased intake (cue reactivity) in individuals with high weight-related concerns, whereas incidental food-cue exposure would result in decreased intake (counteractive control), relative to control exposure. The authors employed a 3 (attended vs. incidental vs. control cue) x 2 (low vs. high weight-related concerns) design. As expected, participants with high weight-related concerns who attended to a food cue ate more than did both those with high weight-related concerns in the control condition and those with low weight-related concerns in the attended-cue condition; however, intake of individuals with high weight-related concerns who were exposed to the incidental cue did not differ from that of those in the control condition. The manner of food-cue presentation may be a critical factor in determining eating behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).
Coelho
Jennifer S
JS
Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. jennifer.coelho@psychology.unimaas.nl
Jansen
Anita
A
Roefs
Anne
A
Nederkoorn
Chantal
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D031204:Caloric Restriction / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D055815:Young Adult