This research is being done to study the impacts of a computerized learning task on health behaviors. The investigators are interested in studying whether this computerized learning task can help with weight loss.
Over 1/3 of U.S. adults over the age of 20 are obese and obesity is associated with a host of deleterious medical comorbidities, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, costing the U.S. approximately $147 billion annually. Novel approaches to address this public health crisis are needed. Although obesity is multiply determined, it is ultimately a disorder of positive energy balance, such that weight loss requires increases in physical activity and improvements in choosing healthy over unhealthy foods. People who are strongly motivated to eat are more obese, and derive less benefit from weight loss treatments. There are two general approaches to addressing this pattern: 1) increase the reinforcing value of healthy foods and/or 2) increase an individual's self-control, i.e., the ability to inhibit approach responses to less healthy foods. Emerging research has begun to develop and test training programs that directly modify tendencies to approach one type of stimulus while resisting temptation of another type of stimulus for problems other than obesity. For example, researchers have been able to train heavy drinkers to decrease their weekly alcohol intake7 and chocolate-lovers to reduce their chocolate intake. However, these researchers did not also incorporate increasing interest in alternatives (e.g., drinking water instead of beer). This training mechanism has also yet to be applied to research on obesity and decreasing intake of unhealthy foods. Participants will be first trained via a computerized training task to inhibit responses to high-calorie (unhealthy) foods, and to approach alternative low-calorie, high-nutrient (healthy) foods, in order to test the tasks efficacy. The investigators will include the training task and incorporate a nap component consistent with Hu and colleagues to evaluate the utility of sleep conditioning for maintaining training-related changes in inhibition and approach tendencies after one week. Tones played during the training task will be played again during the nap, based on randomization
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
25
Participants in the experimental group and control sham sound cues group will complete a computerized training task to facilitate learning to respond (press a computer key) to healthy food stimuli and to inhibit responses (not press a computer key) to unhealthy food stimuli. Participants in the control sham go/no-go group will complete a similar task with common office supplies (approach) and tools (inhibit). All participants will also complete a 24 hour dietary recall as described below.
Johns Hopkins University Bayview Campus, Behavioral Medicine Research Lab
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Reinforcing Value of Food assessed by the Reinforcing Value of Food Questionnaire
The reinforcing value of food task (RVF) assesses how hard an individual is willing to hypothetically work to gain access to food compared with an alternative. A series of paired-samples t-tests will be calculated in order to determine whether participants' scores on the reinforcing value of food test changed between baseline and 1 week later. Scores on the RVF have been shown to be associated with BMI. as well as obesity and energy intake.
Time frame: Approximately 1 week (after second assessment has been taken)
Delay of Gratification assessed by the Kirby Questionnaire
A series of paired-samples t-tests will be calculated in order to determine whether participants' scores on the Kirby Questionnaire changed between baseline and 1 week later. Each item is scored based on whether the participant chooses the shorter delay and less monetary reward versus the longer delay and a higher monetary reward. Delay-discounting rates are positively correlated with impulsiveness.
Time frame: Approximately 1 week (after second assessment has been taken)
24 hour dietary recall: Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) assessed by the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Dietary Assessment Tool (ASA24) dietary food recall
We will use paired-samples t-tests to determine whether participants mean caloric intake and macronutrient breakdown (e.g., %calories from fat) from the two dietary recalls pre-training task were significantly different from their means post-training task.
Time frame: Approximately 1 week (after second assessment has been taken)
Go/no-go task assessed by the Go/no-go task
Performance on go/no-go task as measured by reaction time and accuracy (combined into one score) will be correlated with baseline measures of dietary characteristics and disinhibition
Time frame: Approximately 1 week (after second assessment has been taken)
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