Author: EBRG

New paper!

Is there a role for higher cognitive processes in the development of obesity in humans?

Read it here:

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2022.0208

Abstract

Cognition underpins the flexibility of human eating and disruption to higher cognitive processes, such as inhibitory control and memory, and can result in increased food intake, which in the long term could result in weight gain. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current evidence on cognition as a causal factor in the development of obesity in humans. Evidence from meta-analyses supports the suggestion that cognitive function is cross-sectionally associated with obesity even when controlling for a range of confounding variables. However, this association could be explained by reverse causality because there is also evidence that the metabolic syndrome and a history of excess western diet consumption alters brain structure and cognitive function. Data from longitudinal and interventional studies and from non-human animal models suggest a reciprocal relationship between obesity and cognitive function exists but whether disruption to higher cognitive processes is a primary cause of obesity in humans remains unclear.

New paper! The social facilitation of eating: why does the mere presence of others cause an increase in energy intake?

Read it here:

https://europepmc.org/article/med/34331957

Abstract

There is strong evidence that people eat more when eating with friends and family, relative to when eating alone. This is known as the ‘social facilitation of eating’. In this review, we discuss several gaps in the current scientific understanding of this phenomenon, and in doing so, highlight important areas for future research. In particular, we discuss the need for research to establish the longer-term consequences of social eating on energy balance and weight gain, and to examine whether people are aware of social facilitation effects on their own food intake. We also suggest that future research should aim to establish individual and contextual factors that moderate the social facilitation of eating (e.g. sex/gender), and it should clarify how eating socially causes people to eat more. Finally, we propose a novel evolutionary framework in which we suggest that the social facilitation of eating reflects a behavioural strategy that optimises the evolutionary fitness of individuals who share a common food resource.

New paper! Lisdexamfetamine and binge-eating disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the preclinical and clinical data with a focus on mechanism of drug action in treating the disorder

Read it here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X2100465X?casa_token=LuJgYBKlQ54AAAAA:1jnqEJ-m3GmI2YtGGMecf8oXJbRohuJJdvvh-b2tsCDcJN_uip7QdzC_nrJ68ZhSMj902uaDfVs

Abstract

Binge-Eating Disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder in the United States. Lisdexamfetamine (LDX) was approved in 2015 by the FDA for treatment of BED and is the only drug approved for treating the disorder. There has been no systematic evaluation of the published clinical and preclinical evidence for efficacy of LDX in treating BED and the mechanisms responsible for the therapeutic action of the drug. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using PRISMA guidelines. Fourteen clinical and seven preclinical articles were included. There is consistent evidence from clinical studies that LDX is an effective treatment for BED and that the drug reduces the BED symptoms and body weight of patients with the disorder. There is also consistent evidence from preclinical studies that LDX reduces food intake but no consistent evidence for a preferential reduction of palatable food consumption by the drug in rodents. The evidence on mechanism of action is more limited and suggests LDX may reduce binge eating by a combination of effects on appetite/satiety, reward, and cognitive processes, including attention and impulsivity/inhibition, that are mediated by catecholamine and serotonin mechanisms in the brain. There is an urgent need for adequately powered, placebo-controlled, behavioural and neuroimaging studies with LDX (recruiting patients and/or individuals with subclinical BED symptoms) to further investigate the mechanism of action of the drug in treating BED. An improved understanding of the behavioural and neurochemical mechanisms of action of LDX could lead to the development of improved drug therapies to treat BED.

Video: What is interoception and what does it have to do with eating?

There are many things that influence our eating – one of these things is a process called interoception. In this video we introduce the concept of interoception and look at how this process influences our eating.

 

 

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SSIB Classics: John de Castro and the Social Facilitation of Eating

Professor Suzanne Higgs and colleagues have contributed to the series of SSIB classics. This series aims to provide an overview of important papers within the field of ingestive behaviour.

In this article, Higgs et al. comment on this paper by John de Castro: Family and friends produce greater social facilitation of food intake than other companions.
Physiology & Behavior 56: 445-455, 1994.

Comments by Suzanne Higgs, Helen Ruddock, Lenny Vartanian and Jeff Brunstrom, September, 2019 Click here to view SSIB classics