(Press-News.org) The story is a familiar one: most people are able to lose weight while dieting but once the diet is over, the weight comes back. Many of us can personally attest that caloric deprivation weight loss diets typically do not produce lasting weight loss. Oregon Research Institute (ORI) senior scientist Eric Stice, Ph.D., and colleagues provide results in a recent issue of NeuroImage that further our understanding of how and why most weight loss diets fail and provide a more comprehensive description of the impact of caloric restriction.
Results suggest that restricting food intake increases the reward value of food, particularly high-calorie, appetizing food (chocolate milkshakes), and that the more successful people are at caloric-restriction dieting, the greater difficulty they will face in maintaining the restriction. Additionally, abstaining from food intake for longer durations of time also increases the reward value of food, which may lead to poor food choices when the individual eventually does eat. Results imply that dieting characterized by meal skipping and fasting would be less successful than weight loss efforts characterized by intake of low energy dense healthy foods.
"These results are unique," said Stice "in that these data are the first to suggest that elective caloric restriction increases the degree to which brain regions implicated in reward valuation and attention are activated by exposure to palatable foods."
Participants were two groups of adolescents (Study 1 n=34; Study 2 n=51) who voluntarily restricted their caloric intake so as to approximate what occurs with real-world dieters. Using a brain imaging paradigm, Stice and his team examined the responsivity of adolescent's attention and reward regions of the brain to the individual's exposure to and imagined intake of palatable foods, unpalatable foods, and glasses of water shown in pictures. By including both pictures of palatable and unpalatable foods, the team was able to determine whether degree of "self-imposed" caloric deprivation correlated with hyper-responsivity of attention and reward regions for palatable versus unpalatable foods. In a second paradigm, the team measured teen's neural responses to consumption and anticipated consumption of a chocolate milkshake and a calorie-free tasteless solution. Stice examined whether the number of hours since last caloric intake (which varied from 3 to 22 hours) correlated with neural activation in response to receipt and anticipated receipt of a palatable food. They also tested whether youth who were in a negative energy balance for a 2-week period versus energy balance or a positive energy balance showed aberrant neural response to food stimuli.
"The implications of this imaging study are crystal clear; if people want to lose excess weight, it would be more effective to consume healthy, low-fat/low-sugar foods during regular meals, rather than go for long periods of time without any caloric intake" says Dr. Stice.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Stice has been studying eating disorders and obesity for 20 years. He has conducted this line of research at Stanford University and the University of Texas, and now continues at the Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, Oregon. This line of research has produced several prevention programs that effectively reduce risk for onset of eating disorders and obesity.
INFORMATION:
The research described here is funded in part by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH under grants R01DK072932 and R01DK092468, and in part by the National Institute of Mental Health of the NIH grant R01MH64560. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views or imply endorsement of the NIH.
Oregon Research Institute is a non-profit, independent behavioral research center with headquarters in Eugene. Founded in 1960, it also has offices in Portland, Oregon and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dieting youth show greater brain reward activity in response to food
Restricting food intake increases the reward value of food, and the more successful people are at caloric-restriction dieting, the greater difficulty they will face in maintaining the restriction.
2013-05-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Researchers plot locations where AEDs could save more lives
2013-05-03
TORONTO, May 2, 2013—Prompt use of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, can greatly increase the survival rates of people who suffer a cardiac arrest.
Yet a new study has found that publicly registered AEDs in Toronto are not in the best positions to help victims of cardiac arrest. In fact, less than one in four of all cardiac arrests had an AED close by (within 100 metres is the required distance). The average distance to the nearest AED was closer to 300 meters.
Current guidelines suggest areas associated with the highest risk of cardiac arrest should be targeted ...
Researchers find active transporters are universally leaky
2013-05-03
Professor of Biochemistry Emad Tajkhorshid and colleagues have discovered that membrane transporters help not just sugars and other specific substrates cross from one side of a cellular membrane to the other—water also comes along for the ride.
There are two main ways that molecules can cross a membrane. In passive transport, molecules are able to pass through a membrane protein called a channel (which provides a wide open pathway) to get from the high concentration side to low concentration side of the membrane. This requires no energy as the molecule flows easily down ...
DCIS Score quantifies risk of IBE
2013-05-03
The ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) Score quantifies the risk of ipsilateral breast event (IBE) and invasive IBE risk, complements both traditional clinical and pathologic factors, and helps provide a new clinical tool to improve the process of selecting individualized treatment for women with DCIS who meet the criteria, according to a study published May 2 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Most women with newly diagnosed cases of DCIS are eligible for breast conservation surgery, either with radiation treatment or without. The risk of developing IBE after ...
Cell biologists say immigration reform critical to scientific education and competitiveness
2013-05-03
BETHESDA, MD, MAY 2, 2013—Progress in American scientific research and reform in American immigration law must go hand in hand, the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) declared today in a position paper that outlines four recommendations for modernizing U.S. immigration policy.
"Despite having the best research and educational institutions in the world, existing US immigration laws serve as a significant hurdle for retaining the world's most promising scientists and for diversifying the US biomedical workforce and bioeconomy," the ASCB warned in a preface to its ...
Ebola's secret weapon revealed
2013-05-03
Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus' most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system.
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that Ebola short-circuits the immune system using proteins that work together to shut down cellular signaling related to interferon. Disruption of this activity, the researchers found, allows Ebola to prevent the full development of dendritic cells that would otherwise trigger an immune response to the virus.
"Dendritic cells typically undergo a process ...
'Oil for the joints' offers hope for osteoarthritis sufferers
2013-05-03
A team of researchers led by a Boston University Biomedical Engineer has developed a new joint lubricant that could bring longer lasting relief to millions of osteoarthritis sufferers. The new synthetic polymer supplements synovial fluid, the natural lubricant in joints, and works better than comparable treatments currently available.
According to Boston University Professor of Biomedical Engineering Mark W. Grinstaff, the best fluid supplement now available offers temporary symptom relief but provides inadequate lubrication to prevent further degradation of the cartilage ...
Study looks at muscle adaptation of transition to minimalist running
2013-05-03
For tens of thousands of years, humans ran on bare feet. Then we developed an assortment of specialized shoes, including – particularly since the 1960s – a seemingly limitless variety of running shoes. Despite the perceived advantages of foot protection, some runners in recent years have returned to barefoot running, believing it is a more natural way to run and therefore less injurious to the feet and legs.
As a result, several shoe manufacturers have produced specialized "minimalist" shoes to accommodate this, such as the Vibram FiveFingers shoes. Such shoes allow a ...
NASA measures rainfall as Cyclone Zane approaches Queensland, Australia
2013-05-03
VIDEO:
This video is a TRMM flyby of Tropical Cyclone Zane in May 2013.
Click here for more information.
NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite passed over Cyclone Zane as it was approaching Queensland Australia's Cape York Peninsula and measured rainfall rates within the storm. TRMM data showed a disorganized storm with the strongest rain falling northwest of the center.
Cyclone Zane, as of 12:00 UTC (10:00 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time or ...
U of M researchers discover link between heart, blood, and skeletal muscle
2013-05-03
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (MAY 2, 2013) – New research out of the Lillehei Heart Institute at the University of Minnesota shows that by turning on just a single gene, Mesp1, different cell types including the heart, blood and muscle can be created from stem cells.
The study was published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
"Previous research indicated that this gene was the "master regulator" for development of the heart, and that its activity prevented the differentiation of other cell types," said Michael Kyba, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Minnesota ...
GSA's top geoscience journal posts 9 new articles
2013-05-03
Boulder, Colo., USA – New Geology papers cover ancient iron oceans; the Antarctic and global climate/carbon-cycle feedbacks; evidence of catastrophic spillover from kilometer-deep bodies of water on Mars; the role of volcanic emissions in ozone depletion; "fingerprinting" San Andreas fault sandstone; a climax in Earth's mountain-building cycle; the last place on land undergoing continental breakup; garnet as a proxy for subduction zone dehydration; and evidence of migrating mammals at the Venta del Moro fossil site, Spain.
Highlights are provided below. Geology articles ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Freeze-framing the cellular world to capture a fleeting moment of cellular activity
Computer hardware advance solves complex optimization problems
SOX2: a key player in prostate cancer progression and treatment resistance
Unlocking the potential of the non-coding genome for precision medicine
Chitinase-3-like protein 1: a novel biomarker for liver disease diagnosis and management
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: August 22, 2025
Charisma Virtual Social Coaching named a finalist for Global Innovation Award
From the atmosphere to the abyss: Iron's role in Earth's climate history
US oil and gas air pollution causes unequal health impacts
Scientists reveal how microbes collaborate to consume potent greenhouse gas
UMass Amherst kinesiologist receives $2 million ‘outstanding researcher’ award from NIH
Wildfire peer review report for land Brandenburg, Germany, is now online
Wired by nature: Precision molecules for tomorrow's electronics
New study finds hidden body fat is linked to faster heart ageing
How a gift card could help speed up Alzheimer’s clinical research
Depression and anxiety symptoms in adults displaced by natural disasters
Cardiovascular health at the intersection of race and gender in Medicare fee for service
World’s first observation of the transverse Thomson effect
Powerful nodes for quantum networks
Mapping fat: How microfluidics and mass spectrometry reveal lipid landscapes in tiny worms
ATOX1 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma carcinogenesis via activation of the c-Myb/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
Colibactin-producing E. coli linked to higher colorectal cancer risk in FAP patients
Animal protein not linked to higher mortality risk, study finds
Satellite insights into eutrophication trends on the Qinghai–Tibet plateau
Researchers develop an innovative method for large-scale analysis of metabolites in biological samples
Asteroid Bennu is a time capsule of materials bearing witness to its origin and transformation over billions of years
New AI model can help extend life and increase safety of electric vehicle batteries
Wildfires can raise local death rate by 67%, shows study on 2023 Hawaiʻi fires
Yogurt and hot spring bathing show a promising combination for gut health
Study explains how lymphoma rewires human genome
[Press-News.org] Dieting youth show greater brain reward activity in response to foodRestricting food intake increases the reward value of food, and the more successful people are at caloric-restriction dieting, the greater difficulty they will face in maintaining the restriction.