Impulsivity, eating behaviour and obesity
An important question which we try to answer is why some people find it so difficult to refrain from eating too much, while others are able to resist the omnipresent temptation of palatable food. Our research focuses on the role of personality, and specific of impulsivity, response inhibition and reward sensitivity on eating behaviour. In previous research, we found that obese children, obese women and restrained women were more impulsive on several behavioural computer tasks, compared to control groups (Nederkoorn, 2004, 2006a, 2006b). Moreover, impulsivity predicted weight loss after a behavioural treatment: the most impulsive children (measured before treatment) lost less weight up to 1 year after treatment (Nederkoorn, in press). Thus, for some children impulsivity appeared an obstacle to lose weight. At the moment, we have several related research lines on impulsivity and eating behaviour:
- The causal role of impulsivity in overeating and overweight (Guerrieri, submitted)
- The interaction between environment and impulsivity on food intake (Guerrieri, 2005; Guerrieri, in press)
- The predictive value of impulsivity on consumptive behaviour (food intake, alcohol and drug use) and weight gain in a longitudinal study
- The role of impulsivity in eating disorders (Claes et al., 2006; Nederkoorn et al, in preparation)