Decision-making deficits and overeating: a risk model for obesity

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Human overeating is often viewed as a response to environmental cues and physiological drives.
• The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is crucial for advantageous decision-making, assessing future consequences.
• Deficits in vmPFC function are observed in conditions like substance dependence, leading to choices favoring immediate rewards over long-term outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of decision-making in human overeating and overweight.
• To test if poor decision-making and stress-induced overeating correlate with higher Body Mass Index (BMI).

Main Methods:

• A regression model was employed to analyze data from 41 healthy adult women with a wide range of BMIs.
• Decision-making was assessed using a validated computerized gambling task.
• The tendency to overeat under stress was also measured.

Main Results:

• Both poor decision-making and stress-related overeating significantly predicted higher BMI (p < 0.05; R2 = 0.35).
• Decision-making impairments in participants with high BMI were more pronounced than those previously observed in studies of drug addicts.

Conclusions:

• Impaired ability to inhibit short-term rewards for long-term benefits, involving cortical and subcortical processes, may contribute to eating behaviors.
• This finding is particularly relevant in environments abundant with palatable, energy-dense foods.
• Decision-making deficits represent a potential target for interventions addressing overeating and obesity.