title: Being impulsive and obese increases susceptibility to speeded detection of high-calorie foods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Overeating and obesity are associated with impulsivity. In studies among patients with a substance use disorder, impulsivity was found to be associated with substance-related attentional bias. This study examined whether obesity, impulsivity and food craving are associated with an attentional bias for high-calorie food.
  
  
  METHODS
  Obese (n = 185, mean BMI = 38.18 ± 6.17) and matched healthy-weight (n = 134, mean BMI = 22.35 ± 1.63) men (27.9%) and women (72.1%), aged 18-45 years, took part in the study. Participants were tested on several self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity (i.e., response inhibition and reward sensitivity) and self-reported trait craving. In addition, they performed a visual search task to measure attentional bias for high- and low-caloric foods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-reported impulsivity influenced the relationship between weight status and detection speed of high- and low-caloric food items: High-impulsive participants with obesity were significantly faster than high-impulsive healthy-weight participants in detecting a high-caloric food item among neutral items, whereas no such difference was observed among low-impulsive participants. No significant effects were found on low-caloric food items, for trait craving or any of the behavioral measures of impulsivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported impulsivity, but not trait craving or behavioral measures of impulsivity, is associated with an attentional bias for high-caloric foods, but only in people with obesity. It is in particular the speedy detection of high-caloric foods in the environment that characterizes the impulsive person with obesity, which in turn may cause risky eating patterns in a society were high-caloric food is overly present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bongers
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Elsmarieke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van de Giessen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roefs
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nederkoorn
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Booij
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van den Brink
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jansen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D066249:Craving; D003463:Cues; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000523:psychology; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D012201:Reward; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult