Neural responses to visual food cues according to weight and hunger state: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Food cue reactivity shapes eating behavior and likely relates to weight and hunger states. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies, however, have yielded mixed results on the underlying neural correlates. We, therefore, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of weight and hunger on neural responses to food cues.

We searched PubMed and Web of Science (2000-2022) for fMRI studies using visual food cues that reported participants' weight and hunger states (PROSPERO: CRD42022365310). The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools and fMRI reporting standards were used to assess the risk of bias. The coordinate-based meta-analysis was conducted using GingerALE.

Of the 2451 screened articles, 50 were included in the systematic review (n = 1402), and 45 in the meta-analysis (n = 1162). Results are based on both whole-brain and region-of-interest (ROI) analyses. Overall, food cues consistently activated reward, frontal, and visual brain areas, in both obesity and healthy-weight groups, though selective differences in activation strength were found. A higher-order contrast meta-analysis indicated higher activations in a parahippocampal region in obesity versus healthy weight, supported by one study. Stratified analyses indicated that during fasting, individuals with obesity showed reward area activation (16 studies, n = 396), while healthy-weight individuals exhibited frontal activation (23 studies, n = 429), however, higher-order contrast analyses between groups showed no significant differences.

Neural responses to food cues were consistently found in reward, frontal and visual brain areas. Some evidence indicated variation by weight and hunger states. Additional studies are needed to further clarify these neural differences.