Response inhibition according to the stimulus and food type in exogenous obesity

It is still unknown under which conditions response inhibition deficits occur in obesity, and how these patterns change. Methodological and experimental limitations might be predictors. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not the inhibitory control process of participants with obesity and those of a healthy weight differs according to the type of stimuli.

The study sample was comprised of 51 exogenous obese and 46 healthy weight participants. Groups completed four go/no-go blocks: neutral, object, low-calorie, and high-calorie. The order of block presentation was counterbalanced. To examine inhibitory controls, repeated measures of the last factor were applied.

Results showed that obese and healthy weight participants' response patterns changed according to the type of stimuli. Obese participants did not have problems with neutral/standard response inhibition. The inhibitory control deficits occurred in the food stimuli blocks. Also, food type was a predictor for that response pattern. The response control declined prominently in the high-calorie food condition compared to the low-calorie food condition. Error types and reaction times changed according to the stimulus and food type.

In go/no-go tasks, manipulating the stimulus type, especially the food type, seems to be critical for understanding the nature of response control. The response inhibition problem was revealed in the food stimulus and changed based on the food type. These results are thought to be important for the construction of efficient weight treatment programs.