6533b7d5fe1ef96bd12639c2

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Compréhension des processus cognitifs de traitement de l’information alimentaire chez des individus normo-pondéraux, en surpoids et en obésité : influence d’un amorçage olfactif implicite et rôle des caractéristiques individuelles

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Obesity has a multifactorial origin that implies biological, social, psychological, and environmental factors. Previous studies have shown that particular cognitive processing of food stimuli could contribute to the maintenance and development of obesity. This vulnerability was characterized by attentional biases (i.e. the tendency to automatically orient one’s attention) and a decreased inhibitory control (i.e. difficulties to control one’s cognitive processes) toward foods. This phenomenon may be reinforced by the obesogenic environment: an environment abundant in food and with a lack of options for physical exercise. Among the five studies presented in this work, we characterized olfactory and cognitive capacities, as well as psychological aspects in adults with normal-weight, overweight, and obesity. To get more insight into the features of food information processing, cognitive biases were measured (attentional biases and inhibitory control). Adults were exposed to non-attentively perceived food odours (implicit priming) and attentively perceived food odours (explicit priming) to represent the effects of the obesogenic environment on cognitive processing. To explore individual features that may influence cognitive processing, we measured olfactory (detection and identification) and cognitive (inhibition and flexibility) capacities, as well as psychological aspects (quality of life, eating style, body image). Our results showed that individuals had an attentional bias toward food as well as decreased inhibitory control toward food, regardless of weight status. Concerning priming, only implicit priming had an impact on cognition, which led us to highlight an effect of implicit priming that was exclusive to automatic cognitive processing. This effect differed as a function of weight status and odour type, which permitted to characterize a cognitive vulnerability to high-energy dense food odours in individuals with obesity. Those stimuli might act as a “modulator” of cognitive processing, in an automatic and non-conscious manner. While olfactory capacities were not different among the weight status groups, individuals with a higher Body Mass Index had lower inhibition capacities, which is of interest in self-regulation of behaviour. Moreover, using questionnaires allowed us to characterize several profiles of individuals, with some being more protected toward the negative consequences of overweight and obesity. Better understanding obesity by research and clinical practice could allow preventing and managing obesity on an individual as well as societal level.