Cited by 274Decision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsEating Disorders and BehaviorsObesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Steep discounting of delayed monetary and food rewards in obesity: a meta-analysis

Amlung, M., Petker, T., Jackson, J., Balodis, I., MacKillop, J.·2016·Psychological Medicine

Abstract

Background: An increasing number of studies have investigated delay discounting (DD) in relation to obesity, but with mixed findings. This meta-analysis synthesized the literature on the relationship between monetary and food DD and obesity, with three objectives: (1) to characterize the relationship between DD and obesity in both case–control comparisons and continuous designs; (2) to examine potential moderators, including case–control v. continuous design, money v. food rewards, sample sex distribution, and sample age (<18 v. >18 years); and (3) to evaluate publication bias. Method: From 134 candidate articles, 39 independent investigations yielded 29 case–control and 30 continuous comparisons (total n = 10 278). Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using Cohen's d as the effect size. Publication bias was evaluated using fail-safe N, Begg–Mazumdar and Egger tests, meta-regression of publication year and effect size, and imputation of missing studies. Results: The primary analysis revealed a medium effect size across studies that was highly statistically significant ( d = 0.43, p < 10 −14 ). None of the moderators examined yielded statistically significant differences, although notably larger effect sizes were found for studies with case–control designs, food rewards and child/adolescent samples. Limited evidence of publication bias was present, although the Begg–Mazumdar test and meta-regression suggested a slightly diminishing effect size over time. Conclusions: Steep DD of food and money appears to be a robust feature of obesity that is relatively consistent across the DD assessment methodologies and study designs examined. These findings are discussed in the context of research on DD in drug addiction, the neural bases of DD in obesity, and potential clinical applications.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291716000866

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  • Discount rate is highly correlated with a variety of health behaviors and disorders, with medium effect sizes across studies.

    “Supporting this belief, discount rate is highly correlated with a variety of health behaviors and disorders, with medium effect sizes across studies (Amlung, Petker, Jackson, Balodis, & MacKillop, 2016; Jackson & MacKillop, 2016; MacKillop et al., 2011).”

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Authors
Amlung, M., Petker, T., Jackson, J., Balodis, I., & MacKillop, J.
Affiliations
  • Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research (CA)
  • Homewood Research Institute (CA)
Corresponding author
Amlung, M.
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Published
2016-06-15
Volume
46
Issue
11
Pages
2423-2434
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
OpenAlex
W2431859568
Cited by
274
References
82
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 4
FWCI
3.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (P30DA027827)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
Keywords
delay discounting, obesity, food reward, monetary rewards, impulsivity, adolescents, publication bias
MeSH terms
Food, Humans, Obesity, Reward, Delay Discounting

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