Go/No-Go Training Changes Food Evaluation in Both Morbidly Obese and Normal-Weight Individuals

• Published in: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 2018-12, Vol.86 (12), p.980-990
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhang, Veling, Harm, de Vries, Stijn P, Bijvank, Bas Olde, Janssen, Ignace M. C, Dijksterhuis, Ap, Holland, Rob W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Appetite; Choice Behavior; College students; Devaluation; Eating Behavior; Evaluation; Female; Food; Human; Humans; Hunger; Male; Males; Middle Aged; Netherlands; Obesity; Obesity, Morbid - psychology; Outpatient; Preferences; Psychotherapy - methods; Response Inhibition; Test Construction; Training; University students; Weight control; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0022-006X; 1939-2117
• DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000320

Objective: Not responding to appetitive food items in the go/no-go training has been shown to reduce the evaluation of these items in normal-weight university students. In this preregistered study, we administered an identical go/no-go training in both morbidly obese individuals and normal-weight university students, to assess whether findings from laboratory studies on go/no-go training performed in university environments can be translated to clinical settings. Method: Obese individuals (N = 59, 14 males, Mage = 46.10, MBMI = 44.49) and university students (N = 58, 15 males, Mage = 23.21, MBMI = 22.64) were trained to consistently respond to certain food items (go) and withhold responses to other items (no-go). Evaluations of the go and no-go items, along with items not used in the training (untrained), were measured both before and after the training. Results: Before the training, evaluations of go, no-go and untrained items were matched; after the training, go items were evaluated more positively than no-go (p = .031 and p = .002 in obese and normal-weight individuals) and untrained items (p = .003 in normal-weight individuals). Only relatively hungry participants rated no-go items as less attractive than both go and untrained items (no-go devaluation effect). More important, effects of the training on food evaluation did not differ between the two participant groups. Conclusions: Obese and normal-weight individuals showed similar responsivity to the go/no-go training on food evaluation, suggesting that insights from laboratory studies may be translated to clinical settings to develop effective interventions to regulate food intake. What is the public health significance of this article? This translational study shows that the go/no-go training, in which people consistently respond to certain food items and withhold responses toward other food items, changes food evaluation in both morbidly obese individuals and normal-weight university students. Direct comparisons suggest many similarities but also some differences between the two groups. This information is useful for understanding whether developing cognitive training tasks in university environments is a useful approach to arrive at clinical interventions to help people regulate their eating behavior.