Impairments in working memory associated with spontaneous dieting behaviour

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience of Eating Behavior
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Dieting to lose weight is associated with cognitive processing deficits.
• Previous research suggests a reduction in working memory capacity as the primary deficit.
• The current study aims to identify specific working memory components affected by dieting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific components of the working memory system impacted by dieting.
• To examine the relationship between dieting, working memory performance, and body shape concerns.

Main Methods:

• Participants were categorized into low/medium restrained eaters, highly restrained eaters, and current dieters based on the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ).
• Working memory was assessed using tasks targeting the Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (mental rotation), Phonological Loop (phonological similarity effect), and Central Executive (Tower of London Task).
• Cognitive performance was correlated with self-reported body shape concern.

Main Results:

• Current dieters exhibited impaired recall on the Phonological Loop task.
• Current dieters demonstrated slower planning times on the Tower of London Task (Central Executive).
• Poorer performance on these tasks correlated significantly with higher levels of body shape concern.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the hypothesis that dieting-related cognitive deficits are mediated by preoccupying thoughts about food and body shape.
• Dieting appears to impact specific executive functions and verbal memory components.
• Cognitive load associated with body image concerns may underlie observed working memory impairments.