Inhibitory Control Training for Excess Weight: Behavioural, Cognitive and Anthropometric Changes

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Inhibitory control training: Computerized cognitive training. Participants will perform the task of the FoodT app for 10 minutes during two weeks (taking advantage of time of maximum brain potentiation, Rossi et al., 2009). Images of food and non-food appear on the left, right or centre of the smart phone screen and participants must touch it (or not, depending on the cue) with their index finger as quickly as possible. Participants earn points for correct tap responses and lose points for incorrect tap responses. If the image has a green border around it, participants must tap the image and win 1 point. But if the image has a red border around it, participants must inhibit the tapping response, or lose 1 point. Participants must respond as quickly and accurately as possible. Pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods are always paired with the Go and the No-Go signal, respectively. Non-food images are paired 50% of the time with the Go and the No-Go signal

Placebo Inhibitory control training: Computerized cognitive training. Participants will perform the task of the FoodT app for 10 minutes during two weeks (taking advantage of time of maximum brain potentiation, Rossi et al., 2009). Images appear on the left, right or centre of the smart phone screen and participants must touch it (or not, depending on the cue) with their index finger as quickly as possible. Participants earn points for correct tap responses and lose points for incorrect tap responses. If the image has a green border around it, participants must tap the image and win 1 point. But if the image has a red border around it, participants must inhibit the tapping response, or lose 1 point. Participants must respond as quickly and accurately as possible. Here, three separate categories of non-food items (stationery, flowers and clothing) would be Go signal (associated with green 100%), No-Go signal (associated with red 100%) and control (50% red 50% green) respectively.

Study summary

People with excess weight (EW) are characterized by high impulsivity, high levels of craving for high-calorie foods, deficits in inhibitory control, and maladaptive decision-making. The proposed intervention seeks to target these issues. Thus, the present study aims to determine the effectiveness of combining inhibitory control training with usual treatment (diet and physical exercise) in treating people with EW to produce cognitive, behavioral and anthropometric changes. Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups: 1) the experimental group that would receive active inhibitory control training and (2) the active control group that will receive placebo inhibitory control training. Both groups will receive individualized diet and physical exercise guidelines. Training requires to inhibit responding to certain foods presented during computerized tasks. Using a food Go/No-Go paradigm, individuals are asked to press a button when a Go cue is presented next to an image and to refrain from pressing a button when a No-Go cue (e.g., a bold frame) is presented. In the experimental group, pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods are always paired with the Go and the No-Go signal, respectively whereas in the control group healthy and unhealthy foods are paired 50% of the time with the Go and 50% with the No-Go signal. It is hypothesized that the experimental intervention would be effective improving (i) Body Mass Index (BMI), (ii) food craving, (iii) anthropometric measures (waist circumference and waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios), (iv) eating and physical exercise behaviors (decreased caloric intake and increased frequency and time of physical activity), (v) emotional symptoms and emotional eating (depression, anxiety, emotional regulation, emotional eating, reward-related eating, non-homeostatic eating), and (vi) cognitive abilities (motor and cognitive inhibition, delay of gratification, impulsivity, working memory, cognitive flexibility and decision making).

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Body Mass Index (BMI). Mean change from baseline at post-intervention — Pre-treatment assessment (week 2), post-treatment assessment (week 6) and follow-up (week 18)
  BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m\^2. Height and weight will be obtained with a pharmacy digital weight.

Trial sites (1)

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