Abstract
The elaborated intrusion theory of desire proposes that craving is a cognitive motivational process involving intrusive thoughts. Changing the way we react to them, cognitive defusion (CD), should limit thought elaboration and craving. We induced chocolate craving in female chocolate cravers before CD (Study 1). A decrease in craving measured by a single-item scale, Visual Analogical Scale (VAS; p < .001, ηp2 = .449) and as a state, State Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ-S; p = .029, ηp2 = .106) were found in the experimental group, while similar results were also found in group control. The reduction in craving (VAS) in group CD correlated negatively with chocolate consumption on a bogus taste test (r = -.439, p = .036), while the correlation was positive in the case of group control (r = .429, p = .047). Food craving as a trait, measured by the Trait Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ-T), showed negative correlations with measures of CD and mindfulness skills (lowest r = -.313, p = .018). In Study 2 participants made use of a smartphone application implementing the CD procedure in real contexts whenever they experienced food craving. A corresponding decline in self-reported craving was found, as well as in consumption of the craved food (indulgence) compared with the control condition. Our findings indicate that CD may be a promising intervention for tackling the elaboration of intrusive thoughts and eating behavior in young female food cravers, both in a controlled laboratory environment after a cue-food exposure craving induction procedure, as well as responding to naturally occurring food cravings in real-life settings.
Highlights
Food craving may be defined as an intense and difficult to resist desire to consume a specific kind of food (Weingarten & Elston, 1990) that may be a precursor of uncontrolled eating in the general population (Vainik et al, 2019)
For repeated measures (RM) ANOVAs, Greenhouse– Geisser correction was applied in case of violation of the assumption of sphericity
This result in the cognitive defusion group adds to the findings in the literature showing the benefits of this intervention for reducing food cravings (e.g., Forman et al, 2007; Lacaille et al, 2014; Moffitt et al, 2012; Schumacher et al, 2017, 2018) and partially confirms our first hypothesis (H1a)
Summary
Forty-five1 female undergraduate students from the University of Granada who craved chocolate ‘often’ or ‘always/almost every day’, according to their score in the chocolate item of the Food Craving Inventory, were recruited to participate in exchange for course credits (age, M = 20.02, SD = 2.55, range 18–29). Their average body mass index (BMI) was 22.59 (SD = 3.57, range 16.67–32.05), which is considered to be within the healthy weight range.
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