Randomized Controlled Trial of Effects of Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment on Food Cue Reactivity.
Ariana M Chao, Thomas A Wadden, Wen Cao and 5 others
PMID 37916843WHAT IT FOUND
Behavioral weight loss did not change measured brain response to food images.
It did produce greater weight loss and some appetite improvements, but the brain response did not differ between groups.
Key findings
01The main brain outcome, activation to food images, did not change more in the behavioral weight loss group than in the waiting-list group.
02The behavioral weight loss group lost 4.7±4.9% of initial body weight, while the waiting-list group gained 0.2±3.5%.
03The behavioral weight loss group reported increased desire for lower-calorie foods and improved cognitive restraint and control over eating.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was single-site and only included women aged 18 to 60 with BMI 30 or more, so it may not apply to men or people outside this range. The trial was open-label, so participants knew whether they were receiving treatment or waiting. The sample was small and had limited power to detect small changes in brain activation. Attrition was greater in the waiting-list group. Cohort 1 began in person and then moved to virtual sessions because of pandemic restrictions. Participants were scanned after fasting. Food ratings were made outside the scanner. This may explain why brain measures and self-report did not line up.
Declared interests
No author conflict-of-interest statement is included in the supplied text. The article metadata lists NIH and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that behavioral weight loss works by changing brain response to food cues. The main brain measure did not differ between groups, and the study was small and only included women.