Obese women struggle to learn food associations
In lab experiment, they fail to connect color signal with tasty reward
Obese women have a blind spot, but only when food is in the picture. In laboratory tests, obese women had trouble learning an association between a colored screen and a reward of M&M’s or pretzels, scientists report July 17 in Current Biology.
This deficit occurred only for obese women, and not obese men or people who were not overweight. It was also specific to food: The women easily made the connection when the reward was money. The results suggest that in some cases, abnormal responses to food rewards might contribute to obesity, says neuroscientist Nicole Avena of Columbia University, who was not involved in the research.
The study also provides an intriguing glimpse into men and women’s distinct responses to food. “We know that there are big differences between males and females with regard to lots of different behaviors,” Avena says. “There’s no reason to think that obesity and overeating wouldn’t be one of them.”