Problematic eating as an issue of habitual control

Zachary Pierce-Messick; Laura H Corbit

doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110294

Problematic eating as an issue of habitual control

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Aug 30:110:110294. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110294. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Authors

Zachary Pierce-Messick¹, Laura H Corbit²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S3G3, Canada.
² Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S3G3, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 33662535
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110294

Abstract

Obesity has reached alarming rates worldwide. Although many people attempt to control weight by modifying their food-related behaviours, this typically only has short-term effects and most dieters regain the weight that was lost. Why do so many people struggle to regulate their food-related behaviours? One possible explanation is that these behaviours have become habits that are not immediately sensitive to their consequences. Here we review experimental evidence for a shift to habitual control over food-related behaviours and the neural systems that control them and how this relates to difficulty changing ones' eating behavior.

Keywords: Goal-directed; Habit; Learning; Outcome devaluation; Striatum.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Conditioning, Operant / physiology*
Feeding Behavior / physiology*
Humans
Learning / physiology
Life Style
Obesity / psychology*
Reward

Grants and funding

401526/CIHR/Canada