title: Comparing decision making in average and overweight children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study investigates the aspects of self-regulation skills in overweight and normal-weight children, which may be related to their overeating problems. It is hypothesised that overweight children may show poor decision-making behaviour, and this may be because of two processes: hypersensitivity to reward or future insensitivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Average weight children (n=66) and overweight children (n=64) between 11 and 16 years were tested with the developmentally appropriate analogue of the Iowa gambling task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results reveal that overweight children show decision-making failure ensued from future insensitivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings provide support for the reward deficiency hypothesis or the anhedonic route to obesity in children.
authors: Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Verbeken
authors: Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Braet
authors: Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Bosmans
authors: Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Goossens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D056344:Executive Function; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology*; D012201:Reward; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis