Executive functions and the self-regulation of eating behavior: A review

According to Dohle et al. (2018), people aiming to lose weight require high motivation and the capacity for successful self-regulation. This capacity is said to be strongly connected to executive functions, which consists of several inter-related higher-order cognitive processes that give people the ability to take goal-driven actions. This review analyzes how specific facets of executive function such as updating, inhibiting, and shifting may contribute to the successful self-regulation of eating behavior. As well as pointing out under-researched aspects of this self-regulation, the review presents the implications of current knowledge in terms of intervention strategies and research design for future studies investigating the role of executive function in the self-regulation of dietary behavior. [NPID: motivation, self-regulation, executive functions]

Year: 2018

Reference: Dohle, S., Diel, K., & Hofmann, W. (2018). Executive functions and the self-regulation of eating behavior: A review. Appetite, 124, 4–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.041

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