Eating ‘attentively’ reduces later energy consumption in overweight and obese females

Attentional and memory processes underpin appetite control, but whether encouraging overweight individuals to eat more ‘attentively’ can promote reductions in energy consumption is unclear. In the present study with a between-subjects design, a total of forty-eight overweight and obese females consumed a fixed lunchtime meal. Their ad libitum energy intake of high-energy snack food was observed during a second laboratory session that occurred later that day. In the focused-attention condition, participants ate their lunch while listening to audio instructions that encouraged them to pay attention to the food being eaten. In a control condition, participants ate while listening to an audio book with a neutral (non-food-related) content. To test whether focused attention influenced food intake via enhancing the memory of the earlier consumed meal, we measured the participants' memory of their lunchtime meal. Ad libitum snack intake was approximately 30 % lower for participants in the focused-attention condition than for those in the control condition, and this difference was statistically significant. There was limited evidence that attention decreased later food intake by enhancing memory representation of the earlier consumed meal. Eating attentively can lead to a substantial decrease in later energy intake in overweight and obese individuals. Behavioural strategies that encourage a more ‘attentive’ way of eating could promote sustained reductions in energy intake and weight loss.</jats:p

Portion size and meal consumption in domesticated dogs: An experimental study

Increases in food portion sizes have been identified as a possible contributor to the increased prevalence of obesity in humans. However, little is known about the origin of behavioural tendencies to overeat from larger portion sizes or whether other non-human animals are affected by meal portion size. In the present experimental study, we examined the effect that larger portion sizes have on meal consumption among domesticated dogs (N = 32). Dogs were fed three meals that varied in size on different occasions (150%, 200% and 300% of usual portion size). A repeated measures design was used and food consumption was measured for each meal. Portion size positively affected food consumption, with dogs eating significantly more food as the portion size of meal increased. The effect of portion size on food consumption was also observed when the dogs that finished all available food were excluded from analyses, however not among dogs who did not finish any of the meals. We conclude that the influence larger portions have on food consumption observed in humans is also observed in domesticated dogs. However, it is unclear whether portion size directly biases the amount of food dogs choose to consume, as has been suggested in humans. Further research is now warranted to examine commonalities between human and non-human animal eating behaviour to understand shared behavioural tendencies and their origins

Portion size and later food intake : evidence on the “normalizing” effect of reducing food portion sizes

Background Historical increases in the size of commercially available food products have been linked to the emergence of a worldwide obesity crisis. Although the acute effect that portion size has on food intake is well established, the effect that exposure to smaller portion sizes has on future portion size selection has not been examined. Objective We tested whether reducing a food portion size “renormalizes” perceptions of what constitutes a normal amount of that food to eat and results in people selecting and consuming smaller portions of that food in the future. Design Across 3 experiments, participants were served a larger or smaller portion of food. In experiments 1 and 2, participants selected and consumed a portion of that food 24 h later. In experiment 3, participants reported on their preferred ideal portion size of that food after 1 wk. Results The consumption of a smaller, as opposed to a larger, portion size of a food resulted in participants believing a “normal”-sized portion was smaller (experiments 1–3, P ≤ 0.001), consuming less of that food 1 d later (experiments 1–2, P ≤ 0.003), and displaying a tendency toward choosing a smaller ideal portion of that food 1 wk later (experiment 3, P = 0.07), although the latter finding was not significant. Conclusion Because consumer preferences appear to be driven by environmental influences, reducing food portion sizes may recalibrate perceptions of what constitutes a “normal” amount of food to eat and, in doing so, decrease how much consumers choose to eat. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03241576

Alcohol consumers’ attention to warning labels and brand information on alcohol packaging: Findings from cross-sectional and experimental studies

Background Alcohol warning labels have a limited effect on drinking behavior, potentially because people devote minimal attention to them. We report findings from two studies in which we measured the extent to which alcohol consumers attend to warning labels on alcohol packaging, and aimed to identify if increased attention to warning labels is associated with motivation to change drinking behavior. Methods Study 1 (N = 60) was an exploratory cross-sectional study in which we used eye-tracking to measure visual attention to brand and health information on alcohol and soda containers. In study 2 (N = 120) we manipulated motivation to reduce drinking using an alcohol brief intervention (vs control intervention) and measured heavy drinkers’ attention to branding and warning labels with the same eye-tracking paradigm as in study 1. Then, in a separate task we experimentally manipulated attention by drawing a brightly colored border around health (or brand) information before measuring participants’ self-reported drinking intentions for the subsequent week. Results Study 1 showed that participants paid minimal attention to warning labels (7% of viewing time). Participants who were motivated to reduce drinking paid less attention to alcohol branding and alcohol warning labels. Results from study 2 showed that the alcohol brief intervention decreased attention to branding compared to the control condition, but it did not affect attention to warning labels. Furthermore, the experimental manipulation of attention to health or brand information did not influence drinking intentions for the subsequent week. Conclusions Alcohol consumers allocate minimal attention to warning labels on alcohol packaging and even if their attention is directed to these warning labels, this has no impact on their drinking intentions. The lack of attention to warning labels, even among people who actively want to cut down, suggests that there is room for improvement in the content of health warnings on alcohol packaging

Does perceived overweight increase risk of depressive symptoms and suicidality beyond objective weight status? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Obesity is associated with a significant disease burden, but whether recognising as opposed to failing to recognise personal overweight is beneficial or detrimental to mental health is unclear. Here we examine the associations between perceived overweight and depressive symptoms and suicidality. A systematic search of three electronic databases yielded 10,398 unique records, from which 32 studies (110 observations) were eligible for inclusion. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for each outcome using random effects meta-analyses and potential publication bias was examined. Perceived overweight was associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms (OR: 1.42, CI: 1.31, 1.54 p 128,585 and suicidality (OR: 1.41, CI: 1.28, 1.56, p <.0001, N = 133,576) in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The association between perceived overweight and poorer mental health was observed irrespective of study origin, participant age (children vs. adults), gender, and whether or not a person was objectively overweight. The pooled statistical relationship between objective weight status and poorer mental health was attenuated to non-significance when perceived overweight was accounted for, suggesting that the detrimental effect of overweight on mental health is largely dependent on whether or not a person identifies as overweight

Additional file 1: of Alcohol consumers’ attention to warning labels and brand information on alcohol packaging: Findings from cross-sectional and experimental studies

Study 1 – visual characteristics. A discussion of the association between stimulus size and complexity and visual attention to warning labels. (DOCX 12 kb

Additional file 2: of Alcohol consumers’ attention to warning labels and brand information on alcohol packaging: Findings from cross-sectional and experimental studies

Study 1 – dietary restraint. A discussion of the association between dietary restraint and visual attention to branding. (DOCX 18 kb