Research
Adherence
Higher BMI is associated with greater activation in the anterior insula/frontal operculum and lateral OFC during initial orientation to appetizing food cues, and greater activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and superior parietal lobe during orientation to unappetizing food cues.
Your brain's response to food cues, whether appetizing or unappetizing, is stronger if you have a higher BMI. This heightened neural activity in attention and reward centers suggests that food cues are more salient and motivating for you, making it harder to ignore them.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
BMI correlated positively with activation in brain regions related to attention and food reward, including the anterior insula/frontal operculum, lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), and superior parietal lobe, during initial orientation to food cues.
Why this rating
Robust fMRI methodology with FDR correction, but cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
Source
Attentional Bias to Food Images Associated With Elevated Weight and Future Weight Gain: An fMRI Study
Sonja Yokum et al. · Obesity · 2011
cohort · n=35Cited 406×
Read the paper This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →