Sleep duration differentially affects brain activation in response to food images in adolescents with overweight/obesity compared to adolescents with normal weight.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep is an important behavior that affects appetite and eating in adolescents. Our study examined food-related neural activation in brain regions associated with food reward and inhibition in adolescents under sleep-restricted and well-rested conditions. METHODS: In this within-subjects study, 52 adolescents (ages 12-18; 46% female; M age = 15.96 years, SD = 1.56) with normal weight (NW; N = 29, M body mass index % [BMI%] = 54.55, SD = 24.54) or overweight/obesity (OV/OB; N = 23, M BMI% = 93.78, SD = 4.60) spent 5 hours in bed at home each night for five consecutive nights and 9 hours in bed at home each night for 5 consecutive nights, with the first day of each condition occurring 4 weeks apart. The morning following each sleep modification period, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were collected while participants performed an inhibitory (go/no-go) task with food stimuli. RESULTS: We found significantly greater activation in brain regions associated with inhibition in adolescents with NW in response to food cues when sleep restricted. No increase in inhibition-related neural activation was observed in adolescents with OV/OB when sleep restricted. We also found neural activation consistent with greater reward processing associated with food cues following sleep restriction regardless of weight status. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that chronic sleep restriction may increase the likelihood of suboptimal dietary behavior for adolescents with OV/OB because they do not experience increased inhibition-related neural responding to counter possible increased reward-related neural responding following sleep restriction.

Appropriateness of the food-pics image database for experimental eating and appetite research with adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Research examining effects of visual food cues on appetite-related brain processes and eating behavior has proliferated. Recently investigators have developed food image databases for use across experimental studies examining appetite and eating behavior. The food-pics image database represents a standardized, freely available image library originally validated in a large sample primarily comprised of adults. The suitability of the images for use with adolescents has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the appropriateness of the food-pics image library for appetite and eating research with adolescents. METHODS: Three hundred and seven adolescents (ages 12-17) provided ratings of recognizability, palatability, and desire to eat, for images from the food-pics database. Moreover, participants rated the caloric content (high vs. low) and healthiness (healthy vs. unhealthy) of each image. RESULTS: Adolescents rated approximately 75% of the food images as recognizable. Approximately 65% of recognizable images were correctly categorized as high vs. low calorie and 63% were correctly classified as healthy vs. unhealthy in 80% or more of image ratings. These results suggest that a smaller subset of the food-pics image database is appropriate for use with adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: With some modifications to included images, the food-pics image database appears to be appropriate for use in experimental appetite and eating-related research conducted with adolescents.