Is High Fat and Sugar Intake Associated with Disrupted Attentional-Motivational Coupling for Food? Evidence from an...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Nutritional Science
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Frequent high-fat/high-sugar (HFS) food consumption is linked to disrupted appetite regulation and persistent desire for palatable foods, even when satiated.
• Previous research demonstrated sustained motivational drive for HFS foods when full, but attentional engagement remained unclear.
• Understanding attentional persistence is crucial as attention significantly influences food choices and overeating behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if habitual HFS intake affects visual attention, motivation, and consumption of palatable foods when satiated.
• To examine the relationship between diet, attentional responses, and motivational evaluations of food in hungry versus satiated states.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-four adults (18-30 years) completed a food frequency questionnaire.
• Participants underwent a bogus taste-rating task and eye-tracking (Tobii Pro Glasses 3) to measure visual attention (fixations) to snack foods in hungry and satiated states.
• Self-reported wanting and liking ratings for snack foods were collected.

Main Results:

• Satiation significantly reduced overall visual attention (fixations) to snacks, with 'wanting' being more sensitive to physiological state than 'liking'.
• Visual attention was higher for 'healthy' snacks than 'unhealthy' snacks, especially when hungry.
• Individuals with low HFS intake showed aligned decreases in visual attention and desire post-meal, unlike the high-HFS group where this coupling was reduced.

Conclusions:

• Diet quality influences how visual attention interacts with food motivation, extending previous findings on appetite regulation.
• Disrupted coupling between attention and motivation in high-HFS consumers suggests potential alterations in cognitive processes underlying appetite control.
• Findings provide a foundation for neurocognitive research into overeating and obesity risk, highlighting the role of diet in shaping cognitive-motivational food interactions.