Ashley N Gearhardt1, Sonja Yokum2, Jennifer L Harris3, Leonard H Epstein4, Julie C Lumeng5. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. 2. Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, USA. 3. Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT, USA. 4. Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA. 5. Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Food advertising is a major contributor to obesity, and fast food (FF) restaurants are top advertisers. Research on the impact of food advertising in adolescents is lacking and no prior research has investigated neural predictors of food intake in adolescents. Neural systems implicated in reward could be key to understanding how food advertising drives food intake. OBJECTIVES: To investigate how neural responses to both unhealthy and healthier FF commercials predict food intake in adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of 171 adolescents (aged 13-16 y) who ranged from normal weight to obese completed an fMRI paradigm where they viewed unhealthy and healthier FF and nonfood commercials. Adolescents then consumed a meal in a simulated FF restaurant where foods of varying nutritional profiles (unhealthy compared with healthier) were available. RESULTS: Greater neural activation in reward-related regions (nucleus accumbens, r = 0.29; caudate nucleus, r = 0.27) to unhealthy FF commercials predicted greater total food intake. Greater responses to healthier FF relative to nonfood commercials in regions associated with reward (i.e., nucleus accumbens, r = 0.24), memory (i.e., hippocampus, r = 0.32), and sensorimotor processes (i.e., anterior cerebellum, r = 0.33) predicted greater total food and unhealthier food intake, but not healthier food intake. Lower activation in neural regions associated with visual attention and salience (e.g., precuneus, r = -0.35) to unhealthy relative to healthier FF commercials predicted healthier food intake. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that FF commercials contribute to overeating in adolescents through reward mechanisms. The addition of healthier commercials from FF restaurants is unlikely to encourage healthier food intake, but interventions that reduce the ability of unhealthy FF commercials to capture attention could be beneficial. However, an overall reduction in the amount of FF commercials exposure for adolescents is likely to be the most effective approach.
BACKGROUND: Food advertising is a major contributor to obesity, and fast food (FF) restaurants are top advertisers. Research on the impact of food advertising in adolescents is lacking and no prior research has investigated neural predictors of food intake in adolescents. Neural systems implicated in reward could be key to understanding how food advertising drives food intake. OBJECTIVES: To investigate how neural responses to both unhealthy and healthier FF commercials predict food intake in adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of 171 adolescents (aged 13-16 y) who ranged from normal weight to obese completed an fMRI paradigm where they viewed unhealthy and healthier FF and nonfood commercials. Adolescents then consumed a meal in a simulated FF restaurant where foods of varying nutritional profiles (unhealthy compared with healthier) were available. RESULTS: Greater neural activation in reward-related regions (nucleus accumbens, r = 0.29; caudate nucleus, r = 0.27) to unhealthy FF commercials predicted greater total food intake. Greater responses to healthier FF relative to nonfood commercials in regions associated with reward (i.e., nucleus accumbens, r = 0.24), memory (i.e., hippocampus, r = 0.32), and sensorimotor processes (i.e., anterior cerebellum, r = 0.33) predicted greater total food and unhealthier food intake, but not healthier food intake. Lower activation in neural regions associated with visual attention and salience (e.g., precuneus, r = -0.35) to unhealthy relative to healthier FF commercials predicted healthier food intake. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that FF commercials contribute to overeating in adolescents through reward mechanisms. The addition of healthier commercials from FF restaurants is unlikely to encourage healthier food intake, but interventions that reduce the ability of unhealthy FF commercials to capture attention could be beneficial. However, an overall reduction in the amount of FF commercials exposure for adolescents is likely to be the most effective approach.
Authors: Amanda S Bruce; Rebecca J Lepping; Jared M Bruce; J Bradley C Cherry; Laura E Martin; Ann M Davis; William M Brooks; Cary R Savage Journal: J Pediatr Date: 2012-12-01 Impact factor: 4.406
Authors: R J Kuczmarski; C L Ogden; L M Grummer-Strawn; K M Flegal; S S Guo; R Wei; Z Mei; L R Curtin; A F Roche; C L Johnson Journal: Adv Data Date: 2000-06-08
Authors: F Devoto; L Zapparoli; R Bonandrini; M Berlingeri; A Ferrulli; L Luzi; G Banfi; E Paulesu Journal: Neurosci Biobehav Rev Date: 2018-07-30 Impact factor: 8.989
Authors: Helen G Dixon; Maree L Scully; Melanie A Wakefield; Victoria M White; David A Crawford Journal: Soc Sci Med Date: 2007-06-22 Impact factor: 4.634
Authors: Amanda S Bruce; Jared M Bruce; William R Black; Rebecca J Lepping; Janice M Henry; Joseph Bradley C Cherry; Laura E Martin; Vlad B Papa; Ann M Davis; William M Brooks; Cary R Savage Journal: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Date: 2012-09-20 Impact factor: 3.436
Authors: Sarah E Domoff; Emma Q Sutherland; Sonja Yokum; Ashley N Gearhardt Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-04-21 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Oh-Ryeong Ha; Haley J Killian; Ann M Davis; Seung-Lark Lim; Jared M Bruce; Jarrod J Sotos; Samuel C Nelson; Amanda S Bruce Journal: Front Psychol Date: 2020-12-02
Authors: Gráinne Murphy; Ciara Corcoran; Mimi Tatlow-Golden; Emma Boyland; Brendan Rooney Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-03-25 Impact factor: 3.390