Inhibitory Control, Attentional Bias, and Palatable Food Consumption in Adolescents: A Laboratory Feasibility...

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Neuroscience
• Public Health

Background:

• Adolescent eating behaviors and disordered eating present significant health risks.
• Understanding the interplay between inhibitory control and food cue attention is crucial for prevention.
• Nonclinical adolescent samples offer insights into early risk factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot test an inhibitory control training intervention.
• To assess intervention effects on attentional bias to food cues and hedonic appetite.
• To examine relationships between inhibitory control, appetite, food intake, and disordered eating symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Pilot randomized controlled trial with 43 adolescents (mean age 15.1).
• Intervention group received food cue-specific go/no go inhibitory control training.
• Data collected via laboratory taste test, surveys, dietary recall, and subsample eye-tracking/cognitive tasks.

Main Results:

• The inhibitory control training intervention showed preliminary links to reduced attentional bias toward food cues.
• Inhibitory control demonstrated preliminary associations with sugar consumption, binge eating symptoms, and cognitive restraint.
• These findings require validation in a fully powered study.

Conclusions:

• Inhibitory control training shows potential for modifying attentional bias to food cues.
• Further investigation in larger studies is warranted to confirm inhibitory control's role.
• Findings may inform strategies for promoting healthy eating and preventing disordered eating in adolescents.