Bad Habits 06
Davis, C. (2009). Psychobiological traits in the risk profile for overeating
and weight gain. International Journal of Obesity, 33, S49-S53.
Food environment is dramatically changed, leading to obesity
These alterations have strongly emphasized the physiological differences
between the homeostatic and the hedonic regulation of food-intake
(=largely responsible for the pronounced increase in obesity)
Overeating = shares parallels with addiction disorders
Reward sensitivity = evidence favoring both sides of the problem; studies
found a link between low reward sensitivity and obesity, but there are
also studies that found that a strong appetitive motivation leads to
overeating.
Similarities with addiction; activate the same brain reward mechanisms. Also
have clinical features, such as escalating compulsions, tolerance, withdrawal and
cravings and relapses after periods of restraint.
Different with addiction; the concept of food addiction is relatively new.
Nearly unlimited calorie-dense food is always available.
Increased sugar and fat dose is food
It is suggested that some subtypes of obesity should be included in the DSM V.
Reward sensitivity = hypersensitivity to reward contributes to increased
vulnerability for overeating because of an enhanced motivation to engage in
pleasurable activities. In several studies, heightened reward sensitivity
(assessed by self-report) was associated with emotional overeating, preference
for high fat food, binge eating, and food cravings
→ there are biologically different subtypes of obesity that can be identified by their
, specific behavioural responses to food, and by the differing motivations that drive their
overeating
Impulsivity is a risk factor for a variety of addictive behaviours, as well as
overeating. Because there is no real definition of the term, there is a lot of
empirical confusion.
On the one hand, it is used to describe behaviour that is disinhibited, in which
an individual has a difficulty in stopping responses at times when inhibition is
the most appropriate thing to do. This is associated with someone with a short
fuse, who is easily irritated
The other aspect of impulsivity is associated with a higher drive for reward, but not for
punishment. In other words, individuals show pronounced weaknesses in learning
appropriate associations between reward and punishment. So there is a tendency for fun
seeking and risky behaviour → associated with weight gain
→ prefer smaller rewards now (chocolate) instead of larger rewards in the future (being
healthy)
People were given a bowl of normal marshmallows and a bowl of different and
fun marshmallows. The people who were highly impulsive, ate more of the fun
ones than the group of less impulsive people.
Impulsivity is a core feature in poor decision making.
Risk factor research in obesity has seen a recent paradigm shift with an
increasing focus on individual differences in the psychological traits and
motivation systems that contribute to the hedonic aspects of overeating.
Variability in the functioning of brain reward mechanisms is at the heart of this
interest. In this regard, obesity research has benefited greatly from the
scientific discoveries made in the field of drug addiction research and by the
viewpoint that some forms of obesity can best be modeled as an addiction
disorder. On the other hand, obesity research has been handicapped by a
pervasive reliance on an outdated methodology. The high prevalence rates of
obesity globally, and the increasing standard deviation of BMI in individuals who
are given this label, suggest that it is no longer tenable statistically to treat
Davis, C. (2009). Psychobiological traits in the risk profile for overeating
and weight gain. International Journal of Obesity, 33, S49-S53.
Food environment is dramatically changed, leading to obesity
These alterations have strongly emphasized the physiological differences
between the homeostatic and the hedonic regulation of food-intake
(=largely responsible for the pronounced increase in obesity)
Overeating = shares parallels with addiction disorders
Reward sensitivity = evidence favoring both sides of the problem; studies
found a link between low reward sensitivity and obesity, but there are
also studies that found that a strong appetitive motivation leads to
overeating.
Similarities with addiction; activate the same brain reward mechanisms. Also
have clinical features, such as escalating compulsions, tolerance, withdrawal and
cravings and relapses after periods of restraint.
Different with addiction; the concept of food addiction is relatively new.
Nearly unlimited calorie-dense food is always available.
Increased sugar and fat dose is food
It is suggested that some subtypes of obesity should be included in the DSM V.
Reward sensitivity = hypersensitivity to reward contributes to increased
vulnerability for overeating because of an enhanced motivation to engage in
pleasurable activities. In several studies, heightened reward sensitivity
(assessed by self-report) was associated with emotional overeating, preference
for high fat food, binge eating, and food cravings
→ there are biologically different subtypes of obesity that can be identified by their
, specific behavioural responses to food, and by the differing motivations that drive their
overeating
Impulsivity is a risk factor for a variety of addictive behaviours, as well as
overeating. Because there is no real definition of the term, there is a lot of
empirical confusion.
On the one hand, it is used to describe behaviour that is disinhibited, in which
an individual has a difficulty in stopping responses at times when inhibition is
the most appropriate thing to do. This is associated with someone with a short
fuse, who is easily irritated
The other aspect of impulsivity is associated with a higher drive for reward, but not for
punishment. In other words, individuals show pronounced weaknesses in learning
appropriate associations between reward and punishment. So there is a tendency for fun
seeking and risky behaviour → associated with weight gain
→ prefer smaller rewards now (chocolate) instead of larger rewards in the future (being
healthy)
People were given a bowl of normal marshmallows and a bowl of different and
fun marshmallows. The people who were highly impulsive, ate more of the fun
ones than the group of less impulsive people.
Impulsivity is a core feature in poor decision making.
Risk factor research in obesity has seen a recent paradigm shift with an
increasing focus on individual differences in the psychological traits and
motivation systems that contribute to the hedonic aspects of overeating.
Variability in the functioning of brain reward mechanisms is at the heart of this
interest. In this regard, obesity research has benefited greatly from the
scientific discoveries made in the field of drug addiction research and by the
viewpoint that some forms of obesity can best be modeled as an addiction
disorder. On the other hand, obesity research has been handicapped by a
pervasive reliance on an outdated methodology. The high prevalence rates of
obesity globally, and the increasing standard deviation of BMI in individuals who
are given this label, suggest that it is no longer tenable statistically to treat
