Energy-dense Foods Research Articles

Milkshake Acutely Stimulates Dopamine Release in Ventral and Dorsal Striatum in Healthy-Weight Individuals and Patients with Severe Obesity Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: A Pilot Study.

The overconsumption of palatable energy-dense foods drives obesity, but few human studies have investigated dopamine (DA) release in response to the consumption of a palatable meal, a putative mediator of excess intake in obesity. We imaged [11C]raclopride in the brain with positron emission tomography (PET) to assess striatal dopamine (DA) receptor binding pre- and post-consumption of a highly palatable milkshake (250 mL, 420 kcal) in 11 females, 6 of whom had severe obesity, and 5 of whom had healthy-weight. Those with severe obesity underwent assessments pre- and 3 months post-vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). Our results demonstrated decreased post- vs. pre-meal DA receptor binding in the ventral striatum (p = 0.032), posterior putamen (p = 0.012), and anterior caudate (p = 0.018), consistent with meal-stimulated DA release. Analysis of each group separately suggested that results in the caudate and putamen were disproportionately driven by meal-associated changes in the healthy-weight group. Baseline (pre-meal) DA receptor binding was lower in severe obesity than in the healthy-weight group. Baseline DA receptor binding and DA release did not change from pre- to post-surgery. The results of this small pilot study suggest that milkshake acutely stimulates DA release in the ventral and dorsal striatum. This phenomenon likely contributes to the overconsumption of highly palatable foods in the modern environment.

Food insecurity is associated with glycemic markers, and socioeconomic status and low-cost diets are associated with lipid metabolism in Mexican mothers

The association between socioeconomic status (SES) and chronic disease has recently become more evident in middle- and low-income countries. We hypothesized that poor socioeconomic conditions, such as food insecurity, low educational level, or low SES, may restrict access to a healthy diet and may be associated with cardiometabolic risk independently of body fat. This study examined the relation between socioeconomic indicators, body fat, and cardiometabolic disease risk markers in a random sample of mothers living in Queretaro, Mexico. Young and middle-aged mothers (n = 321) answered validated questionnaires to determine SES, food insecurity, and educational level and a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to determine dietary patterns and the cost of individual diet. Clinical measurements included anthropometry, blood pressure, lipids profile, glucose, and insulin. Obesity was present in 29% of the participants. Women with moderate food insecurity had higher waist circumference, glucose, insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance than women with food security. High triglyceride concentration and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with lower SES and lower educational level. Women who consumed a lower carbohydrate diet had higher SES, higher education, and better cardiovascular risk markers. The higher carbohydrate diet profile was the least expensive diet. There was an inverse association between the cost and energy-density of foods. In conclusion, food insecurity was associated with glycemic control markers, and lower SES and education were related to a low-cost, higher carbohydrate diet and to a greater cardiovascular risk. The influence of the social environment on obesity and cardiovascular diseases needs to be further explored.

The Impact of Fast-Food Density on Obesity during the COVID-19 Lockdown in the UK: A Multi-Timepoint Study on British Cohort Data

Poor food environments are considered to trigger obesity and related health complications by restricting the local food options to predominantly low quality, energy-dense foods. This study investigated the impact of the food environment on obesity with a focus on any changes that might have occurred around the COVID lockdown period in the UK when majority of the population relied on food delivery and the local food environments. The proportion of fast-food retailers in the area and the Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) were calculated for participants of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) at three timepoints: pre-COVID (2016), the first UK nation-wide lockdown (April–May 2020) and post lockdown (September–October 2020). The association of the food environment and the odds of obesity was estimated through multivariable logistic regression, with adjustments being made for selected socioeconomic variables. A model using the fast-food proportion as the sole predictor estimated that higher fast-food proportion increased the odds of obesity by 2.41 in 2016, 2.89 during the lockdown and 1.34 post lockdown, compared with 1.87, 2.23, and 0.73, respectively, for the same three periods with adjustments being made for select socioeconomic variables. On the other hand, RFEI increased the odds of obesity only slightly at 1.01, 1.02 and 1.03, respectively, with the model with adjustments yielding respective similar values. The fast-food proportion model indicates that proximity to a poor food environment is linked to obesity, especially during the COVID lockdown period, but the impact of a poor-food environment is limited if the RFEI is used as its indicator. The findings will add much needed insights on the UK data and will inform public health planning and policy.

Development and validation of an online tool to assess perceived portion size norms of discretionary foods

BackgroundPerceived portion size norms (typical perception of how much of a given food individuals choose to eat at a single occasion) may have shifted towards larger sizes due to the ubiquity of large serving sizes. However, there is a lack of validated tools to assess such norms for energy-dense and nutrient-poor discretionary foods. This study aimed to develop and validate an online tool to examine the perceived portion size norms of discretionary foods.MethodsAn online image-series tool of 15 commonly consumed discretionary foods was developed, with eight successive portion size options included for each food. Using a randomised-crossover design, adult consumers (18–65 years) completed the validation study in a laboratory session (April-May 2022) by reporting their perceived portion size norms for each food twice, once based on food images on a computer and another time based on equivalent real food portion size options at food stations in the laboratory. Agreement between methods for each test food was examined using cross-classification and intra-class correlation (ICC).ResultsA sample of 114 subjects were recruited (mean age 24.8 years). Cross-classification indicated >90% of selections were matched in the same or adjacent portion size option. ICC was 0.85 across all foods, demonstrating a good level of agreement.ConclusionThis novel online image-series tool developed to examine perceived portion size norms of discretionary foods showed good agreement with equivalent real food portion size options and may be valuable to investigate perceived portion size norms of common discretionary foods in future studies.

Heightened sensitivity to high-calorie foods in children at risk for obesity: insights from behavior, neuroimaging, and genetics.

Pediatric obesity is a major public health concern. Genetic susceptibility and increased availability of energy-dense food are known risk factors for obesity. However, the extent to which these factors jointly bias behavior and neural circuitry towards increased adiposity in children remains unclear. While undergoing fMRI, 108 children (ages 5-11y) performed a food-specific go/no-go task. Participants were instructed to either respond ("go") or inhibit responding ("no-go") to images of food or toys. Half of the runs depicted high-calorie foods (e.g., pizza) whereas the other half depicted low-calorie foods (e.g., salad). Children were also genotyped for a DNA polymorphism associated with energy intake and obesity (FTO rs9939609) to examine the influence of obesity risk on behavioral and brain responses to food. Participants demonstrated differences in behavioral sensitivity to high- and low-calorie food images depending on task demands. Participants were slower but more accurate at detecting high- (relative to low-) calorie foods when responding to a neutral stimulus (i.e., toys) and worse at detecting toys when responding to high-calorie foods. Inhibition failures were accompanied by salience network activity (anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex), which was driven by false alarms to food images. Children at a greater genetic risk for obesity (dose-dependent model of the FTO genotype) demonstrated pronounced brain and behavioral relationships such that genetic risk was associated with heightened sensitivity to high-calorie food images and increased anterior insula activity. These findings suggest that high-calorie foods may be particularly salient to children at risk for developing eating habits that promote obesity.

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

Evaluating the Effects of Artificial Sweeteners on the Role of Food Priming in Food Consumption

Abstract: As a result of globalization and economic advancements, dietary habits have shifted towards increased energy intake and heightened consumption of energy-dense foods, which have contributed to the obesity epidemic and cardiovascular disease. [1] This increase in food intake has been furthered by numerous external stimuli in the form of advertising, which is focused on immediate pleasure and can be difficult to resist. [2] Such advertising plays the role of a food prime, or a cue that serves to induce food intake under tempting circumstances. [3] The effect of artificial sweeteners on the role of food priming in food consumption was evaluated by comparing Coca-Cola with Diet Coca-Cola consumption on M&M consumption in differently primed settings, as well as to observe the independent effects of these factors on food intake. Fifty-eight college students were recruited to participate in a two-week study in which they were assigned different combinations of beverages and commercials to analyze both the independent and dependent effects of both factors on food consumption. A significant positive association was observed between commercial type and food intake (p=0.03), while no significant association was recorded between the beverage type and food intake. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between the two factors on a significant level and determine the mechanism behind these findings.

Household Food Insecurity Negatively Impacts Diet Diversity in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Healthy, diverse diets are vital for life. In low/middle-income countries, however, the focus is more on food quantity rather than diet quality. This study assessed household diet diversity (HDD) in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta and its associations with household food insecurity (HFI) and household food availability (HFA) controlling for socioeconomic factors. Primary food-preparers in 552 randomly selected households in two rural provinces were interviewed about socioeconomic factors, HDD, HFI, and HFA. More than 80% of households predominantly consumed energy-dense foods, whereas less than 20% consumed nutrient-dense foods. Lower HDD was associated with HFI, lower HFA, for the Khmer ethnic minority, and low livelihood capitals (landlessness, low expenditure, debt) and low utensil scores. The study highlighted the need to provide improved food and nutrition policies that increase availability and access to diverse and healthy foods as well as reduce poverty and increase incomes for at-risk rural and ethnic minority groups.

Children with lower ratings of executive functions have a greater response to the portion size effect

Deficits in executive functions (EFs), a set of cognitive processes related to self-regulation, are associated with the development of obesity. Prior studies from our group showed that lower food-cue related activation in brain regions implicated in self-regulation was related to a larger portion size effect. We tested the hypothesis that lower EFs in children would be positively related to the portion size effect. Healthy weight children aged 7–8 y (n = 88), who varied by maternal obesity status, participated in a prospective study. At baseline, the parent primarily in charge of feeding completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF2) to assess child EFs, including Behavioral (BRI), Emotional (ERI), and Cognitive (CRI) indices. At 4 baseline sessions, children consumed meals in which the portion sizes of foods (pasta, chicken nuggets, broccoli, and grapes) varied by visit (total meal weight of 769, 1011, 1256, or 1492g). Intake increased with increasing portions in a linear trajectory (p < 0.001). EFs moderated the portion size effect such that lower BRI (p = 0.003) and ERI (p = 0.006) were associated with steeper increases in intake as portions increased. As amount of food increased, children in the lowest functioning tertiles for BRI and ERI increased intake by 35% and 36%, respectively, compared to children in the higher tertiles. Increases in intake among children with lower EFs were for higher- but not lower-energy-dense foods. Thus, in healthy weight children who varied by obesity risk, lower parentally reported EFs were associated with a larger portion size effect, and these results were independent of child and parent weight status. Therefore, EFs may be target behaviors that could be strengthened to help children moderate excess intake in response to large portions of energy-dense foods.

(m-CF3-PhSe)2 benefits against anxiety-like phenotype associated with synaptic plasticity impairment and NMDAR-mediated neurotoxicity in young mice exposed to a lifestyle model

Lifestyle habits including energy-dense foods and ethanol intake are associated with anxiety disorders. m-Trifluoromethyl-diphenyl diselenide [(m-CF3-PhSe)2] has been reported to modulate serotonergic and opioidergic systems and elicit an anxiolytic-like phenotype in animal models. This study investigated if the modulation of synaptic plasticity and NMDAR-mediated neurotoxicity contributes to the (m-CF3-PhSe)2 anxiolytic-like effect in young mice exposed to a lifestyle model. Swiss male mice (25-days old) were subjected to a lifestyle model, an energy-dense diet (20:20% lard: corn syrup) from the postnatal day (PND) 25–66 and sporadic ethanol (2 g/kg) (3 x a week, intragastrically, i.g.) from PND 45 to 60. From PND 60 to 66, mice received (m-CF3-PhSe)2 (5 mg/kg/day; i.g). The corresponding vehicle (control) groups were carried out. After, mice performed anxiety-like behavioral tests. Mice exposed only to an energy-dense diet or sporadic ethanol did not show an anxiety-like phenotype. (m-CF3-PhSe)2 abolished the anxiety-like phenotype in young mice exposed to a lifestyle model. Anxious-like mice showed increased levels of cerebral cortical NMDAR2A and 2B, NLRP3 and inflammatory markers, and decreased contents of synaptophysin, PSD95, and TRκB/BDNF/CREB signaling. (m-CF3-PhSe)2 reversed cerebral cortical neurotoxicity, the increased levels of NMDA2A and 2B, and decreased levels of synaptic plasticity-related signaling in the cerebral cortex of young mice exposed to a lifestyle model. In conclusion, the (m-CF3-PhSe)2 anxiolytic-like effect was associated with the modulation of NMDAR-mediated neurotoxicity and synaptic plasticity in the cerebral cortex of young mice exposed to the lifestyle model.

Global investigation of emotional eating, hunger, and fast food addiction

Emotional eating, hunger, and fast food addiction are global concerns extensively studied in recent years due to their implications on public health and well-being. This review aims to comprehensively understand the interconnections among these variables by synthesizing findings from worldwide studies. Emotional eating, characterized by consuming food in response to emotions, has been linked to obesity, poor dietary choices, and increased vulnerability to food addiction. Both physiological and perceived hunger significantly drive individuals towards highly palatable and energy-dense fast foods. Fast food addiction, an emerging concept in food addiction, is characterized by a persistent craving for and compulsive consumption of fast foods, often accompanied by negative health consequences. This review systematically examines global research and highlights the complex interplay between emotional eating, hunger, and fast food addiction. The findings underscore the importance of considering these factors in public health interventions and the need for a multidisciplinary approach to mitigate the impact of these phenomena on obesity rates and overall health. Furthermore, this review emphasizes the need for further research to develop tailored prevention and treatment strategies that address the unique challenges of emotional eating, hunger, and fast food addiction in various cultural and socioeconomic contexts.

Study the Effect of an Innovative Educational Program Promoting Healthy Food Habits on Eating Disorders, Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Body Composition in University Students

The university stage is a good time to promote healthy eating strategies. The sociological and cultural changes experienced by students lead them to skip meals, increase their intake of fast food and energy-dense foods, decreasing adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD). Professionals related to food such as nutritionists and dietitians are also considered a population at risk of developing eating disorders due to the extensive knowledge they possess, which can be used for both good and bad practice. The objective was to analyze the impact of a 4-month educational program promoting the Mediterranean diet on risky eating behaviors, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and body composition in nutrition and dietetics students, studying the differences according to the group investigated (control group and educated group). The context of the research was 196 students (49 males and 147 females) from two consecutive years. The control group did not receive any type of intervention, while with the control group (educated) an educational program was carried out. Results showed that women with greater control over energy intake, carbohydrates, and sugar had a lower percentage of fat mass, while in men, the relationship was established with weight. Regarding adherence to the Mediterranean diet, at post, it is adequate in both men (8.25 ± 2.87) and women (7.90 ± 2.89), with no significant differences between the intervention groups.

Food Properties and Individual Characteristics Influence Children’s Intake Across Multiple Days of Weighed Assessments in Childcare Programs

BackgroundBecause children often consume substantial proportions of their diets in childcare programs, it is critical to determine what they eat when served menus meeting dietary recommendations and how intake is related to individual characteristics. ObjectivesUsing weighed assessments, we characterized children’s consumption across 15 daily menus and investigated the relationship between properties of the food consumed and child characteristics. MethodsIn 3 crossover trials in childcare centers that followed dietary guidelines, we provided and weighed all meals and snacks for 5 consecutive days. For this descriptive secondary analysis, we characterized primary outcomes (daily food weight, energy density, and energy intake) by including the most typical set of menus from each trial, yielding 603 daily intakes for 128 preschool children (15% with overweight or obesity). Physical activity was measured by accelerometry during childcare sessions. Children’s appetitive traits were assessed by parental questionnaires. ResultsBoth food properties and child characteristics were related to daily intake. More food was consumed from menus with greater food weight, and the energy density of consumed food was greater from menus with higher energy density (both P < 0.0001); these menu differences resulted in greater energy intake (P = 0.009). Children with overweight and obesity had greater energy intake as a proportion of requirements than did children with healthy weight (113 ± 6% versus 101 ± 2%; P = 0.039). Vegetable intake was 39 ± 2% of the recommended amounts and boys had lower consumption than girls (P = 0.004). Children with appetitive traits of lower satiety responsiveness or higher food responsiveness had greater daily energy intake (both P < 0.003). ConclusionsWeighed intakes showed that when children were served daily menus with substantial portions of foods that met dietary recommendations, they selectively consumed higher–energy-dense items and ate few vegetables. A particular concern was that children with overweight ate amounts that exceeded their energy needs.The trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02963987, NCT03010501, NCT03242863).

Performance nutrition for cold-weather military operations

ABSTRACT .High daily energy expenditure without compensatory increases in energy intake results in severe energy deficits during cold-weather military operations. The severity of energy deficits has been proportionally linked to declines in body mass, negative protein balance, suppression of androgen hormones, increases in systemic inflammation and degraded physical performance. Food availability does not appear to be the predominant factor causing energy deficits; providing additional rations or supplement snack bars does not reduce the severity of the energy deficits. Nutrition interventions that allow greater energy intake could be effective for reducing energy deficits during cold-weather military operations. One potential intervention is to increase energy density (i.e. energy per unit mass of food) by increasing dietary fat. Our laboratory recently reported that self-selected higher energy intakes and reductions in energy deficits were primarily driven by fat intake (r = 0.891, r2 = 0.475), which, of the three macronutrients. Further, soldiers who ate more fat lost less body mass, had lower inflammation, and maintained net protein balance compared to those who ate less fat. These data suggest that consuming high-fat energy-dense foods may be a viable nutritional intervention that mitigates the negative physiological effects of energy deficit and sustains physical performance during cold-weather military operations.

Expanding the Theory of Planned Behavior to Explain Energy Dense Food Intentions among Early Adolescents in Indonesia

The aim of this study is to examine an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and increase insight into the intentions to consume energy-dense food among adolescents in Indonesia. This study included 411 adolescents from private schools who reported their intentions to consume energy-dense food the next day and the next week, as well as attitudes, subjective norms, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding energy-dense food consumption. Linear regression analyses (in R) were conducted to examine associations of TPB determinants (model 1), TPB determinants plus descriptive norms (model 2), and interactions between determinants (model 3) with the intention to consume energy-dense food the (1) next day or (2) next week. Attitudes and subjective norms were positively associated with both the ‘next day’ and ‘next week’ energy-dense food intentions (model 1), although associations for the ‘next day model’ appeared to be stronger. Descriptive norms, compared to subjective norms, were more strongly associated with ‘next week intentions’, whereas both norms (descriptive and subjective) did not differ in how strongly they were associated with ‘next day’ intentions (model 2). Significant interactions between TPB constructs were found for the model predicting ‘next day’ intentions (i.e. subjective norms × attitude and attitude × PBC) (model 3). Our study provides important information about proximal food intentions among collectivistic cultures specifically, which may have crucial implications for future preventive interventions.

Co-occurrence of Screen Time and Eating Behaviors among Young Children Aged 5 to 9 Years.

High screen time, high energy dense food and low fruits and vegetables are important risk factors among children. The study aimed to find out co-occurrence of screen-time and unhealthy eating behavior among young children aged 5 to 9 years in Pokhara Metropolitan. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children. Face to face interviews were done with 352 parents of the selected children. The study was conducted from March to October, 2020. High screen time was defined as >2 hours screen viewing each day; low fruit vegetable defined as <3 servings a day; and ≥ one serving a day of energy dense food was categorized as high consumption. Out of total, 33.0% did not met recommendation for single health behavior, 38.9% did not meet for two and 23.9% did not for three health behaviors; and 62.8% had two or more risk behaviors. Of total, 19.6% had low fruit vegetable and high energy dense intake, 17.0% had high screen time and low fruit vegetable, 2.3% high screen time and high energy dense and 23.9% had high screen time, high energy dense and low fruit vegetable. Proportion of co-occurrence of multiple risk behaviors was higher among those whose parents had higher screen time, offered screen devices to them; and the children who had television and television cable at home, and had personal screen device (P<0.05). About two-third children had multiple risk behaviors; proportion is higher among those who had access to screen devices and higher parental screen time. It may require a combination of efforts to improve healthy behaviors.

Immigrant families' experience of the Canadian food and nutrition environment.

Upon arrival, immigrants are thrust into the Canadian food environment, which is at an advanced stage of the nutrition transition continuum, encompassing reduced physical activity, sedentary lifestyles, and energy dense diets. In addition to the influence of readily available energy dense foods, immigrant children's food environments may also be impacted by limited availability of traditional foods, economic-constraints, time-constraints, parents' cooking skills, parents' child feeding styles, and school food environments. The study involved in-depth interviews with 19 immigrant parents regarding their family experiences of the Canadian food and nutrition environment, along with 22 participants from settlement agencies, community schools, English-as-a-Second-Language programs, and healthcare organizations. Many newcomers shared experiences that highlighted drastic changes to their food environment upon arrival, including reduced access to open air fresh produce markets, increased access to large supermarkets, fast-paced lifestyles, and the pervasive presence of fast foods and snack foods. Some parents indicated that food purchase decisions were impacted by children's demands and that their children's school environments affected the types of foods their children would eat. A few service providers mentioned negative impacts on breastfeeding, and the change in physical environment as part of the nutrition environment due to association with vitamin D status. The early years are a pivotal time in the development of eating patterns so supportive food and nutrition environments in homes, communities, and schools can ensure that children develop healthy eating habits to support long-term health.

Parental child-feeding practices at 4 years of age are associated with dietary patterns of 7-year-olds.

Parental child-feeding practices have been associated with child body mass index (BMI) and specific food group consumption; however, their role in the development of dietary patterns is less understood. We aim to study the association between parental child-feeding practices at 4 years old and dietary patterns at 7 years that explain BMI z-scores at age 10. Participants were children from the Generation XXI birth cohort (n = 3272). Three patterns of feeding practices at 4 years were previously identified: 'Perceived monitoring', 'Restriction' and 'Pressure to eat'. At 7 years, two dietary patterns were derived: 'Energy-dense foods', higher consumption of energy-dense foods and drinks and processed meats and lower consumption of vegetable soup (significantly associated with BMI z-scores at 10 years) and 'Fish-based', higher in fishery intake and lower in energy-dense food intake. Associations were estimated by linear regression models, adjusted for potential confounders (mother's age, education and pre-pregnancy BMI). Girls whose parents used more Restriction, Perceived monitoring and Pressure to eat at 4 years were less likely to follow the 'Energy-dense foods' dietary pattern at 7 years (β̂ = -0.082; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: -0.134; -0.029; β̂ = -0.093; 95% CI: -0.146; -0.039; β̂ = -0.079; 95% CI: -0.135; -0.04, respectively). In both sexes, children whose parents used more Restriction and Perceived monitoring at 4 years were more likely to follow the 'Fish-based' dietary pattern at 7 years (girls: β̂ = 0.143; 95% CI: 0.077; 0.210; β̂ = 0.079; 95% CI: 0.011; 0.148; boys: β̂ = 0.157; 95% CI: 0.090; 0.224; β̂ = 0.104; 95% CI: 0.041; 0.168). Children whose parents used more Restriction and Perceived monitoring at preschool age were more likely to follow healthier dietary patterns at age 7.

Human nutritional intelligence underestimated? Exposing sensitivities to food composition in everyday dietary decisions

The social and cultural significance of food is woven into every aspect of our dietary behaviour, and it contributes to our complex interaction with food. To find order within this complexity scientists often look for dietary ‘universals’ - phenomena or basic principles that guide our food choice and meal size, irrespective of wider context. One such idea is that taste characteristics provide a signal for dietary composition (e.g., sweet taste signals carbohydrate). Others have suggested that behaviour is guided by learning and is based on associations that form between the flavour of a food and its post-ingestive effects. Despite a large body of research, evidence supporting both processes is equivocal, leading some to conclude that humans are largely indifferent to food composition. Here, we argue that human abilities to gauge the nutritional composition or value of food have been underestimated, and that they can be exposed by embracing alternative methods, including cross-cultural comparisons, large nutrition surveys, and the use of virtual portion-selection tools. Our group has focused on assessments of food choice and expected satiety, and how comparisons across everyday foods can reveal non-linear relationships with food energy density, and even the potential for sensitivity to micronutrient composition. We suggest that these abilities might reflect a complex form of social learning, in which flavour-nutrient associations are not only formed but communicated and amplified across individuals in the form of a cuisine. Thus, rather than disregarding sociocultural influences as extraneous, we might reimagine their role as central to a process that creates and imbues a ‘collective dietary wisdom.’ In turn, this raises questions about whether rapid dietary, technological, and cultural change disrupts a fundamental process, such that it no longer guarantees a ‘nutritional intelligence’ that confers benefits for health.

Computational mechanisms underpinning greater exploratory behaviour in excess weight relative to healthy weight adolescents

Obesity in adolescence is associated with cognitive changes that lead to difficulties in shifting unhealthy habits in favour of alternative healthy behaviours, similar to addictive behaviours. An outstanding question is whether this shift in goal-directed behaviour is driven by over-exploitation or over-exploration of rewarding outcomes. Here, we addressed this question by comparing explore/exploit behaviour on the Iowa Gambling Task in 43 adolescents with excess weight against 38 adolescents with healthy weight. We computationally modelled both exploitation behaviour (e.g., reinforcement sensitivity and inverse decay parameters), and explorative behaviour (e.g., maximum directed exploration value). We found that overall, adolescents with excess weight displayed more behavioural exploration than their healthy-weight counterparts – specifically, demonstrating greater overall switching behaviour. Computational models revealed that this behaviour was driven by a higher maximum directed exploration value in the excess-weight group (U = 520.00, p = .005, BF10 = 5.11). Importantly, however, we found substantial evidence that groups did not differ in reinforcement sensitivity (U = 867.00, p = .641, BF10 = 0.30). Overall, our study demonstrates a preference for exploratory behaviour in adolescents with excess weight, independent of sensitivity to reward. This pattern could potentially underpin an intrinsic desire to explore energy-dense unhealthy foods – an as-yet untapped mechanism that could be targeted in future treatments of obesity in adolescents.