Skipping Breakfast Leads to Weight Loss but Also Elevated Cholesterol Compared with Consuming Daily Breakfasts of Oat Porridge or Frosted Cornflakes in Overweight Individuals: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Eating breakfast may reduce appetite, body weight and CVD risk factors, but the breakfast type that produces the greatest health benefits remains unclear. We compared the effects of consuming a high-fibre breakfast, a non-fibre breakfast, or no-breakfast control on body weight, CVD risk factors and appetite. A total of thirty-six overweight participants (eighteen men and eighteen women) (mean age 33·9 (SD 7·5) years, mean BMI 32·8 (SD 4·7) kg/m2) were randomly assigned to consume oat porridge (n = 12), frosted cornflakes (n = 12) or a water control (n = 12) breakfast daily for 4 weeks. Appetite ratings were collected on the first day and weekly thereafter. Before and after the intervention, body weight, composition, blood pressure and resting energy expenditure (REE) were measured and a fasting blood sample was collected. Across the 4 weeks, fullness was higher and hunger was lower in the oat porridge group compared with the control group (P \u3c 0·05). Mean weight change over the intervention was significantly different in the control group (−1·18 (SD 1·16) kg) compared with both the cornflakes (−0·12 (SD 1·34) kg) and oat porridge (+0·26 (SD 0·91) kg) groups (P \u3c 0·05). However, the control group also showed elevated total cholesterol concentrations relative to the cornflakes and oat porridge groups (P \u3c 0·05). There were no differences between groups in changes in body composition, blood pressure, REE or other CVD risk factors. In conclusion, although skipping breakfast led to weight loss, it also resulted in increased total cholesterol concentrations compared with eating either oat porridge or frosted cornflakes for breakfast

Prisoners of Addictive Cues: Biobehavioral Markers of Overweight and Obese Adults with Food Addiction

Obesity is associated with food and eating addiction (FA), but the biobehavioral markers of this condition are poorly understood. To characterize FA, we recruited 18 healthy controls and overweight/obese adults with (n = 31) and without (n = 17) FA (H-C, FAOB, NFAOB, respectively) to assess alpha brain asymmetry at rest using electroencephalogram; event-related potentials following exposure to high-calorie food (HCF), low-calorie food (LCF), and nonfood (NF) images in a Stroop paradigm; reaction time reflective of the Stroop bias; and symptoms of depression and disordered eating behavior. The FAOB group had the greatest emotional and uncontrollable eating, depressive, and binge-eating symptoms. The FAOB group displayed lower resting left alpha brain asymmetry than that of the NFAOB group. Differently from the other groups, the FAOB group presented attenuated Stroop bias following exposure to HCF relative to NF images, as well as a lower late positive potential component (LPPb; 450–495 ms) in both frontal and occipital regions. In the total cohort, a correlation was found between the Stroop bias and the LPPb amplitude. These results point to biobehavioral hypervigilance in response to addictive food triggers in overweight/obese adults with FA. This resembles other addictive disorders but is absent in overweight/obesity without FA

Neurobiological Evidence for Attention Bias to Food, Emotional Dysregulation, Disinhibition and Deficient Somatosensory Awareness in Obesity with Binge Eating Disorder

Objectives: To refine the biobehavioral markers of binge eating disorder (BED). Methods: We conducted fMRI brain scans using images of high energy processed food (HEPF), low energy unprocessed food (LEUF), or non-foods (NF) in 42 adults (obese with BED [obese -BED; n = 13] and obese with no BED [obese non-BED; n = 29]) selected via ads. Two blood oxygenated level dependent (BOLD) signal contrast maps were examined: food versus nonfood, and HEPF versus LEUF. In addition, score differences on the disinhibition scale were correlated with BOLD signals. Results: food versus nonfood showed greater BOLD activity for BED in emotional, motivational and somatosensory brain areas: insula, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), Brodmann areas (BA) 19 and 32, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and lingual, postcentral, middle temporal and cuneate gyri (p ≤ 0.005; k ≥ 88). HEPF versus LEUF showed greater BOLD activity for BED in inhibitory brain regions: BA 6, middle and superior frontal gyri (p <0.01; k ≥ 119). The groups also differed in the relationships between disinhibition and BOLD activity in the postcentral gyrus (PCG; p = 0.04) and ACC-BA 32 (p = 0.02). For all participants jointly, PCG BOLD amplitude predicted greater disinhibition (p = 0.04). Discussion: Food images elicited neural activity indicating attention bias (cuneate and PCG), emotion dysregulation (BA 19 and 32), and disinhibition (MFG, BA6 and SFG) in obese with BED. These may help tailor a treatment for the obesity with BED phenotype