Abstract

Session presented on Friday, July 25, 2014:

Purpose: According to the World Health Organization, 35.8 million people are obese world-wide. The obesogenic factors contributing to this global problem are thought to reflect a complex interrelationship between social, physiological, and environmental factors. Behaviorally focused interventions focused on healthy eating, portion size, and public health strategies to increase fruit and vegetable intake have reported modest success in addressing the obesity epidemic. Appreciating how individuals differ in response to environmental eating conditions remains enigmatic. Recent advances in neuroimaging have opened the possibility of a new frontier by understanding the neural responses to food intake, visual cues, and affective response to encoded memory of diet. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the emerging scientific literature on the use of neuroimaging to shed light on diet, encoded memory, visual cues, and obesity through fMRI studies and the application of these emerging applications to nursing science.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search using peer-reviewed research articles. PubMed and CINHAL databases were searched using two sets of search terms 'diet,' and 'memory,' and 'fMRI' and 'diet' and 'memory,' and 'visual cues.' Inclusion criteria include studies using human subjects. Studies focused solely on disease processes were eliminated. The research questions were: 1) what is the state of the science reporting fMRI to illuminate understanding on the role of diet, memory, and visual cues on food choices? 2) How does the neuroimaging literature inform nursing research concerning obesity prevention?

Results: Twenty-two articles were located. Eleven met the inclusion criteria and ranged in publication date from 1994-2013. Each of the articles were published in a different journal and no articles were published in the nursing research. Only one article referenced obesity in the title; however, neuroimaging use is increasing in obesity research.

Conclusion: The body of knowledge being generated through use of fMRI to understand diet, memory, and visual cues on food choices is growing. Advances in fMRI holds promise for greater understanding of how individuals differ in neural response to complex eating behaviors. Nursing scientists working in obesity prevention should consider the emerging findings from neuroimaging studies and further study is merited.

Author Details

JoAnn D. Long, RN, PhD, NEA-BC; Ngozi Anyanwu, RN; Carol Boswell, EdD, RN, CNE, ANEF; Sara L. Dodd, PhD; Toby Rogers, PhD, MPT; Martin Binks, PhD

Sigma Membership

Unknown

Type

Poster

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Encoded Diet Memory, Neuroimaging, Obesity, Food Cues

Conference Name

25th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Hong Kong

Conference Year

2014

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All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

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Diet, encoded memory, visual cues, obesity, and neuroimaging: The role of affective response in eating behavior

Hong Kong

Session presented on Friday, July 25, 2014:

Purpose: According to the World Health Organization, 35.8 million people are obese world-wide. The obesogenic factors contributing to this global problem are thought to reflect a complex interrelationship between social, physiological, and environmental factors. Behaviorally focused interventions focused on healthy eating, portion size, and public health strategies to increase fruit and vegetable intake have reported modest success in addressing the obesity epidemic. Appreciating how individuals differ in response to environmental eating conditions remains enigmatic. Recent advances in neuroimaging have opened the possibility of a new frontier by understanding the neural responses to food intake, visual cues, and affective response to encoded memory of diet. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the emerging scientific literature on the use of neuroimaging to shed light on diet, encoded memory, visual cues, and obesity through fMRI studies and the application of these emerging applications to nursing science.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search using peer-reviewed research articles. PubMed and CINHAL databases were searched using two sets of search terms 'diet,' and 'memory,' and 'fMRI' and 'diet' and 'memory,' and 'visual cues.' Inclusion criteria include studies using human subjects. Studies focused solely on disease processes were eliminated. The research questions were: 1) what is the state of the science reporting fMRI to illuminate understanding on the role of diet, memory, and visual cues on food choices? 2) How does the neuroimaging literature inform nursing research concerning obesity prevention?

Results: Twenty-two articles were located. Eleven met the inclusion criteria and ranged in publication date from 1994-2013. Each of the articles were published in a different journal and no articles were published in the nursing research. Only one article referenced obesity in the title; however, neuroimaging use is increasing in obesity research.

Conclusion: The body of knowledge being generated through use of fMRI to understand diet, memory, and visual cues on food choices is growing. Advances in fMRI holds promise for greater understanding of how individuals differ in neural response to complex eating behaviors. Nursing scientists working in obesity prevention should consider the emerging findings from neuroimaging studies and further study is merited.