The relationship between dietary fat intake, impulsive choice, and metabolic health

Unhealthful foods are convenient, ubiquitous, and inexpensive. Overconsumption of unhealthful foods can result in disease states such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. In addition to the physiological consequences of unhealthful foods, research in rats has shown that diets high in processed fat and sugar induce impulsive choice behavior. Research in humans has demonstrated a link between metabolic health and impulsive choice, but most investigations have not included diet. We investigated how dietary fat intake interacts with body fat percentage, fasting glucose, insulin response, and systemic inflammation levels to predict impulsive choices in humans. Participants were split into either Control (<35% calories from fat) or High-Fat (≥40% calories from fat) groups based on self-reported dietary intake, completed an impulsive choice task, and underwent testing to determine their body fat, glucose, insulin response, and inflammation levels. High-fat diets were not predictive of impulsive choices, but added sugar was predictive. Body fat percentage was associated with impulsive choices only in the group who reported consuming high-fat diets. In addition, fasting glucose was associated with impulsive choices in the control group. Therefore, metabolic health and dietary fat intake interacted to predict impulsive choices. These findings indicate that knowledge of dietary patterns coupled with metabolic health markers may help us better understand impulsive choices, thereby improving our ability to target individuals who could benefit from interventions to reduce impulsive choice behavior, with the goal of promoting more self-controlled food choices.