Affective and cognitive influences on decision making in obesity

Abstract

Significant increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity have been observed worldwide, the direct and indirect costs of which are huge for society. The most rapid increases have been seen in those who were already overweight or obese, rendering the morbidly obese a particularly vulnerable group. The increased prevalence of obesity has been closely associated with increasing energy supply per capita in western countries, highlighting the role of individual choice and decision making in the regulation of diet and weight. Indeed, obesity can be viewed as the cumulative result of thousands small decisions that have the outcome that caloric intake exceeds caloric expenditure. Poor decision making is also seen to affect the ability to commit to weight loss interventions. As such, this thesis aimed to examine decision making, and specifically affective and cognitive influences on decision making, in a morbidly obese population, through using a neuropsychological and food diary approach.