Greater perceived ability to form vivid mental images in individuals with high compared to low BMI

Abstract

Obese individuals report more frequent food cravings than their lean counterparts. Since mental imagery plays a role in eliciting and maintaining craving we hypothesized that one's ability to image may be associated with body mass index (BMI) and account, at least in part, for the association between BMI and craving. Twenty-five participants (BMI range: 17.7 kg/m2–34.2 kg/m2) completed three measures of perceived mental imagery ability (The Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, The Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire, The Vividness of Food Imagery Questionnaire), and one measure of craving (Food-Craving Inventory). As predicted, correlation analyses revealed positive associations between BMI and perceived ability to image odors and foods, but not visual objects. Olfactory imagery was singled out as the best predictor of BMI in a hierarchical regression analysis. A second experiment with 57 participants (BMI range: 19.1 kg/m2–38.7 kg/m2) then confirmed the significant positive association between BMI and perceived ability to image odors. These results raise the possibility that imagery ability may play a role in the heightened food cue reactivity observed in obese individuals.