School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, 4059, Australia.
School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, 4059, Australia.
J Behav Med. 2024 Apr;47(2):271-281. doi: 10.1007/s10865-023-00453-3. Epub 2023 Oct 9.
The ubiquity of energy-dense, processed foods has been implicated as a salient feature of the modern 'obesogenic' environment. Cognitive strategies, such as response inhibition training, have been demonstrated to reduce the hedonic value of such foods in previous studies. However, this effect has generally been inconsistent or heterogenous, depending on the outcome measure, characteristics of the sample, and the specificity of food stimuli. Characterising the extent of generalised effects may help define the application of this type of intervention in natural settings. A repeated-measures, proof-of-concept study, using mobile app-based response inhibition training (RIT) versus a control app-based activity (N = 25), was undertaken to establish the valid application of a food reward measure to assess intervention efficacy. Liking (i.e., affect) and wanting (i.e., motivation) for food stimuli categorised by energy density were taken concurrently pre- and post-training. A statistically significant reduction in explicit liking, but not implicit wanting, for foods irrespective of their energy density was observed during the RIT app-based training session relative to the control (p = .041, ηp = .16). However, effect sizes associated with devaluation of energy-dense relative to low calorie food stimuli, although non-significant, were higher when measured as implicitly wanting (p = .098, ηp = .11) than explicit liking (p = .756, ηp = .00). Trends in explicit stimulus evaluations were empirically discordant from implicit evaluations for low calorie foods in particular. Additional research is needed to investigate whether these trends are reproducible with larger samples, trained and novel food stimuli in outcome measures, and more comprehensive training protocols.
高能量、加工食品的普遍存在被认为是现代“致肥胖环境”的一个显著特征。在之前的研究中，已经证明认知策略，如反应抑制训练，可以降低这些食物的享乐价值。然而，这种效果通常是不一致或异质的，这取决于结果测量、样本特征和食物刺激的特异性。描述这种普遍性影响的程度可能有助于确定这种类型的干预措施在自然环境中的应用。采用基于移动应用程序的反应抑制训练（RIT）与基于控制应用程序的活动（N=25）的重复测量、概念验证研究，旨在建立食物奖励措施来评估干预效果的有效应用。在训练前后同时对能量密度分类的食物刺激进行喜好（即情感）和想要（即动机）的评估。与对照组相比，在 RIT 应用程序训练期间，观察到对食物的显性喜好（但不是隐性想要）显著降低，无论其能量密度如何（p=0.041，ηp=0.16）。然而，与低卡路里食物刺激相比，对高能量食物刺激的评价降低的效应大小虽然不显著，但作为隐性想要（p=0.098，ηp=0.11）比显性喜好（p=0.756，ηp=0.00）时更高。特别是对于低卡路里食物，显性刺激评估的趋势与隐性评估不一致。需要进一步的研究来调查这些趋势是否可以在更大的样本、训练和新的食物刺激以及更全面的训练方案中重现。
