How availability of food affects attentional control in restrained eaters: Eye movements in a pictorial-adapted antisaccade task

How the availability of food affects top-down attentional control in restrained eaters: Eye movements in a pictorial-adapted antisaccade task.

Aim: Two eye tracking experiments utilised a pictorial-adapted antisaccade task to investigate the relationship between top-down attentional control in the presence of food images and eating restraint. In addition, the availability of food in the two experiments was manipulated to examine how the expectation of eating high-fat food may also affect top-down attentional control.

Method: In the first experiment participants (N = 72) completed a pictorial-adapted antisaccade task (high-fat food vs. neutral images) to assess top-down attentional control. In the second participants (N = 70), prior to completing the antisaccade task, were asked to choose six unhealthy snacks to consume once the experiment was completed (i.e., actionable food). Participants completed the DEBQ to assess levels of eating restraint.

Results: In the first experiment, levels of eating restraint and top-down attention in the food image condition were not related. However in the second experiment, when participants were expecting to eat, restrained eaters were slower to move their attention away from the food image compared to unrestrained eaters.

Conclusions: When actionable food is not present, top-down attention in restrained eaters is unaffected by food cues. However when actionable food cues are present, top-down attentional control in restrained eaters is diminished.