Abstract
Two thirds of US adults are either obese or overweight and this rate is rising. Although the etiology of obesity is not yet fully understood, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the central nervous system has a principal role in regulating eating behavior. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging and survey data were evaluated for correlations between food-related problem behaviors and the neural regions underlying responses to visual food cues before and after eating in normal-weight individuals and overweight/obese individuals. In normal-weight individuals, activity in the left amygdala in response to high-calorie food vs. nonfood object cues was positively correlated with impaired satiety scores during fasting, suggesting that those with impaired satiety scores may have an abnormal anticipatory reward response. In overweight/obese individuals, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in response to low-calorie food cues was negatively correlated with impaired satiety during fasting, suggesting that individuals scoring lower in satiety impairment were more likely to activate the DLPFC inhibitory system. After eating, activity in both the putamen and the amygdala was positively correlated with impaired satiety scores among obese/overweight participants. While these individuals may volitionally suggest they are full, their functional response to food cues suggests food continues to be salient. These findings suggest brain regions involved in the evaluation of visual food cues may be mediated by satiety-related problems, dependent on calorie content, state of satiation, and body mass index.
Highlights
In the U.S, data for 2003–2004 and 2005–2006 indicated that approximately two thirds of U.S adults were either obese (body mass index (BMI) $30.0) or overweight (BMI of 25.0–29.9) [1]
Activation of the amygdala was positively correlated with self-report of impaired satiety in response to high-calorie vs. object cues among normal-weight participants
In overweight/obese participants, significant correlations between brain activation and self-report of behavior were found in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) before eating and the putamen and amygdala at postmeal
Summary
In the U.S, data for 2003–2004 and 2005–2006 indicated that approximately two thirds of U.S adults were either obese (body mass index (BMI) $30.0) or overweight (BMI of 25.0–29.9) [1]. A person being either overweight or obese causes pathological changes in the body and increases the risk for many chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension [2]. As a result of the lack of understanding of the interplay among genetics, physiology, cognition, and behavior in the control of human body fat mass, preventative and therapeutic approaches to curb the obesity epidemic have had limited success [3,4]. Maladaptive behaviors associated with obesity include: lack of physical activity and food consumption patterns that have increased energy intake such as eating more than a standard sized meal, eating fast food, and never feeling satiated [7]. Behavioral treatments alone have had limited success due to a person having overwhelming cravings for food. It has been argued that the difficulties in treating obesity stem from the intrinsic difficulty in overriding instinct and primal urges [12]
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