# Response inhibition training as an intervention to modify liking and wanting for foods based on energy density: a proof of concept study

## TL;DR

This study explores whether response inhibition training can reduce people's liking and desire for energy-dense foods, with mixed results.

## Contribution

A proof-of-concept study using a mobile app to test response inhibition training's impact on food preferences based on energy density.

## Key findings

- Response inhibition training significantly reduced explicit liking for energy-dense foods.
- Implicit wanting for energy-dense foods showed higher effect sizes compared to low-calorie foods.
- Explicit and implicit evaluations of low-calorie foods were empirically discordant.

## Abstract

The ubiquity of energy-dense, processed foods has been implicated as a salient feature of the modern ‘obesogenic’ environment. Cognitive strategies, such as response inhibition training, have been demonstrated to reduce the hedonic value of such foods in previous studies. However, this effect has generally been inconsistent or heterogenous, depending on the outcome measure, characteristics of the sample, and the specificity of food stimuli. Characterising the extent of generalised effects may help define the application of this type of intervention in natural settings. A repeated-measures, proof-of-concept study, using mobile app-based response inhibition training (RIT) versus a control app-based activity (N = 25), was undertaken to establish the valid application of a food reward measure to assess intervention efficacy. Liking (i.e., affect) and wanting (i.e., motivation) for food stimuli categorised by energy density were taken concurrently pre- and post-training. A statistically significant reduction in explicit liking, but not implicit wanting, for foods irrespective of their energy density was observed during the RIT app-based training session relative to the control (p = .041, ηp2 = .16). However, effect sizes associated with devaluation of energy-dense relative to low calorie food stimuli, although non-significant, were higher when measured as implicitly wanting (p = .098, ηp2 = .11) than explicit liking (p = .756, ηp2 = .00). Trends in explicit stimulus evaluations were empirically discordant from implicit evaluations for low calorie foods in particular. Additional research is needed to investigate whether these trends are reproducible with larger samples, trained and novel food stimuli in outcome measures, and more comprehensive training protocols.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10865-023-00453-3.