Research ReportSensitivity to reward: implications for overeating and overweight
Section snippets
Participants
A stratified sample of 148 healthy pre-menopausal adult women—selected according to BMI categories defined by the World Health Organization (1998)—took part in the study: 59 normal weight (BMI>18.5<25); 49 overweight (BMI>25<30); and 40 obese (BMI>30).1
Results
Table 1 presents means and standard deviations for all variables used in the statistical analyses, listed separately by BMI category.
Discussion
The relationships we predicted in this study were largely confirmed. STR was positively correlated with emotional overeating (but only in response to a depressed mood), which in turn was positively associated with BMI. The fact that negative emotions enhance the desire for food in some people—though not in others—may be partly explained by differential activation of the mesocortical DA pathway during moderate levels of stress (Beaufour, Le Bihan, Hamon, & Thiebot, 2001). Contrary to our
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