U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Obesity and Metabolism Research: Davis, CA
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Laboratories
                        Bennett Group
                                    Huang Group
                                    Keim Group
                                    Laugero Group
                                    Newman GroupSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Pacific West Area Davis, California Western Human Nutrition Research Center Obesity and Metabolism Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            WITBRACHT, MEGAN - University Of Californiaitem
                                            Laugero, Kevinitem
                                            Van Loan, Martaitem
                                            Adams, Seanitem
                                            Keim, Nancy
  Submitted to: Physiology & Behavior
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 4/24/2011
                                    Publication  Date: 4/30/2011
                                    Citation: Witbracht, M.G., Laugero, K.D., Van Loan, M.D., Adams, S.H., Keim, N.L. 2011. Performance on the Iowa gambling task is related to magnitude of weight loss and salivary cortisol in a diet-induced weight loss intervention in overweight women. Physiology and Behavior. 106(2):291-297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.04.035.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.04.035                                                              
                                Interpretive Summary: Even when dieters adhere to a well-controlled weight loss diet, the amount of weight lost varies widely among individual dieters.  In this study we tested if decision-making ability was related to the amount of weight lost when women remained on a calorie-reduced, weight loss diet for 12 weeks.  We found that the amount of weight lost was associated with performance on a computer-based card game that measures thoughtful decision making; those that lost more weight performed better.  We also observed that when the dieters were allowed to choose foods from a self-service buffet offered in a laboratory setting at the end of the study, those women who ate more calories on this occasion lost less weight over the 12 week study.  These results suggest that the ability to lose weight may be linked to decision-making about events or behavior with emotional or social importance, such as a person’s ability to ignore immediate reward (overeating palatable food) when long-term consequences are beneficial (weight loss).  Our study was not designed to demonstrate cause and effect; additional studies of this phenomenon are needed.
                                Technical Abstract: The overall objective of this study was to examine the relationship between executive function, specifically decision making, and weight loss.  We used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to characterize decision making and compared performance on this task to weight loss in obese women (n=29) participating in a 12-week controlled, calorie-reduced intervention.  We hypothesized that a greater amount of weight loss over the course of the intervention would be associated with better performance on the IGT, assessed at the end of the intervention.  The intervention led to significant weight loss of 5.8 ' 3.1 kg (p<0.05) and fat loss of 5.1 ' 3.0 kg (p<0.05).  Body weight and fat mass losses over the 12-week intervention varied widely, ranging from -12.5 kg to 0.0 kg for body weight and -10.4 kg to +0.8 kg for fat mass.   A greater amount of body weight loss was correlated (r = 0.425; p<0.01) with a higher total score on the IGT.  Similarly, the reduction in body fat mass was also correlated with the IGT score (r=0.408; p<0.05). We examined other physiological (salivary cortisol), metabolic (resting metabolic rate), and behavioral (food intake; dietary restraint) factors that might be related to differences in the magnitude of weight loss.  Of these variables, ad libitum consumption of energy and fat during a buffet meal were inversely related to weight loss (r = -0.428; p<0.05 and r = -0.375; p<0.05, respectively).  The present study is the first to report an association between diet-induced weight loss and performance on the IGT, and this association was specific to the loss of body fat.  Our results suggest that differences in weight loss may be linked to executive function that involves decision making about events that have emotionally or socially salient ramifications.  These findings underscore the need to further investigate higher cognitive and neuroendocrine pathways that may influence or be altered by the process of dieting and weight loss.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov