The results confirmed the presence of a relation between executive functions and overweight/obesity , although the directionality of this relation was not clear ; nor did any single executive function emerge as being more involved than others in this relation .
Despite this , there was evidence of a reciprocal influence between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Conclusions : This systematic review underlines the presence of a relationship between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Moreover , it seems to suggest a bidirectional trend in this relationship that could be the cause of the failure of interventions for weight reduction .
Background : The increasing incidence of people affected by overweight or obesity is a significant health problem .
The knowledge of the factors which influences the inappropriate eating behaviors causing excessive body fat is an essential goal for the research .
Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many health diseases , such as cardiovascular problems , diabetes .
Recently , many studies have focused on the relationship between body weight and cognitive processes .
Objectives : This systematic review is aim ed to investigate the existence and the nature of the relationship between excessive body weight ( overweight/obesity ) and executive functions , analyzing cross-sectional , and longitudinal studies in order to verify the evidence of a possible causality between these variables .
Breaking bad habits by improving executive function in individuals with obesity
Background Two primary factors that contribute to obesity are unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior  . These behaviors are particularly difficult to change in the long-term because they are often enacted habitually . Cognitive Remediation Therapy has been modified and applied to the treatment of obesity ( CRT-O ) with preliminary results of a r and omized controlled trial demonstrating significant weight loss and improvements in executive function . The objective of this study was to conduct a secondary data analysis of the CRT-O trial to evaluate whether CRT-O reduces unhealthy habits that contribute to obesity via improvements in executive function . Method Eighty participants with obesity were r and omized to CRT-O or control . Measures of executive function ( Wisconsin Card Sort Task and Trail Making Task ) and unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior habits were administered at baseline , post-intervention and at 3 month follow-up . Results Participants receiving CRT-O demonstrated improvements in both measures of executive function and reductions in both unhealthy habit outcomes compared to control . Mediation analyses revealed that change in one element of executive function performance ( Wisconsin Card Sort Task perseverance errors ) mediated the effect of CRT-O on changes in both habit outcomes . Conclusion These results suggest that the effectiveness of CRT-O may result from the disruption of unhealthy habits made possible by improvements in executive function . In particular , it appears that cognitive flexibility , as measured by the Wisconsin Card Sort task , is a key mechanism in this process . Improving cognitive flexibility may enable individuals to capitalise on interruptions in unhealthy habits by adjusting their behavior in line with their weight loss goals rather than persisting with an unhealthy choice . Trial registration The RCT was registered with the Australian New Zeal and Registry of Clinical Trials ( trial i d : ACTRN12613000537752 )
The results confirmed the presence of a relation between executive functions and overweight/obesity , although the directionality of this relation was not clear ; nor did any single executive function emerge as being more involved than others in this relation .
Despite this , there was evidence of a reciprocal influence between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Conclusions : This systematic review underlines the presence of a relationship between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Moreover , it seems to suggest a bidirectional trend in this relationship that could be the cause of the failure of interventions for weight reduction .
Background : The increasing incidence of people affected by overweight or obesity is a significant health problem .
The knowledge of the factors which influences the inappropriate eating behaviors causing excessive body fat is an essential goal for the research .
Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many health diseases , such as cardiovascular problems , diabetes .
Recently , many studies have focused on the relationship between body weight and cognitive processes .
Objectives : This systematic review is aim ed to investigate the existence and the nature of the relationship between excessive body weight ( overweight/obesity ) and executive functions , analyzing cross-sectional , and longitudinal studies in order to verify the evidence of a possible causality between these variables .