Impulsivity influences food intake in women with generalized anxiety disorder
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Eating behavior is affected by psychological and neurocognitive factors. However, little is known about this relationship in anxious patients. Our aim was to investigate the associations between impulsivity, inhibitory control, energy-dense food consumption, and body mass index (BMI) in women with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 51 adult females with GAD answered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and participated in a go/no-go task using food images. Anthropometric measurements were evaluated. A food frequency questionnaire and a snack test were used to study eating behavior. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were performed to analyze the variables of interest, adjusted by age. RESULTS: Impulsivity predicted intake of sugar (p = 0.016, 95%CI 0.67-6.05), total fat (p = 0.007, 95%CI 0.62-3.71), and saturated fat (p = 0.004, 95%CI 0.30-1.48). The snack test showed a positive correlation between presence of impulsivity and intake of biscuits (R = 0.296; p = 0.051). Response inhibition to food images in the go/no-go task paradigm did not predict BMI or food intake. CONCLUSION: Impulsivity was predictive of higher sugar and saturated fat intake in women diagnosed with GAD. Our findings add to the literature regarding the association between neuropsychological factors and food consumption in this specific population.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Among adult females with anxiety (n = 51), impulsivity predicted higher intakes of sugar and saturated fat.
“Among adult females with anxiety (n = 51), impulsivity predicted higher intakes of sugar and saturated fat [177], which is consistent with reports of “comfort food” consumption when under stress [178].”
From Separating the Signal from the Noise: How Psychiatric Diagnoses Can Help Discern Food Addiction from Dietary Restraint (2020) · cites this paper as [177]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The GAD-7
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092 · Cited by 31,765 · see citing works
(1998) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · Cited by 19,139 · see citing works
(1998) · PubMed · Cited by 10,216 · see citing works
Development of a Rating Scale for Primary Depressive Illness
Hamilton, M. (1967) · British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1967.tb00530.x · Cited by 8,410 · see citing works
The global prevalence of common mental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis 1980–2013
Steel, Z., Marnane, C., Iranpour, C., Chey, T., Jackson, J. W., Patel, V., & Silove, D. (2014) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyu038 · Cited by 2,846 · see citing works
Psychiatric Aspects of Impulsivity
Moeller, F. G., Barratt, E. S., Dougherty, D. M., Schmitz, J. M., & Swann, A. C. (2001) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.11.1783 · Cited by 2,747 · see citing works
OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2011) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7 · Cited by 2,648 · see citing works
Fifty years of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: an update and review
Stanford, M. S., Mathias, C. W., Dougherty, D. M., Lake, S. L., Anderson, N. E., & Patton, J. H. (2009) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.04.008 · Cited by 1,609 · see citing works
Amorim, P. (2000) · Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1590/s1516-44462000000300003 · Cited by 1,075 · see citing works
Gariepy, G., Nitka, D., & Schmitz, N. (2010) · International Journal of Obesity · doi:10.1038/ijo.2009.252 · Cited by 753 · see citing works
Generalized anxiety disorder: prevalence, burden, and cost to society
Wittchen, H.-U. (2002) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.10065 · Cited by 733 · see citing works
Gender Difference in the Prevalence of Eating Disorder Symptoms
Striegel-Moore, R., Rosselli, F., Perrin, N., DeBar, L., Wilson, G., May, A. M., & Kraemer, H. (2009) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.20625 · Cited by 680 · see citing works
Batterink, L. J., Yokum, S., & Stice, E. M. (2010) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.05.059 · Cited by 527 · see citing works
Dopamine, serotonin and impulsivity
Dalley, J. W., & Roiser, J. P. (2012) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.03.065 · Cited by 501 · see citing works
The neurobiology of anxiety disorders: brain imaging, genetics, and psychoneuroendocrinology.
Martin, E. I., Ressler, K., Binder, E., & Nemeroff, C. (2010) · Clinics in Laboratory Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.cll.2010.07.006 · Cited by 494 · see citing works
Shear, M. K., Vander Bilt, J., Rucci, P., Endicott, J., Lydiard, B., Otto, M. W., Pollack, M. H., Chandler, L., Williams, J., Ali, A., et al. (2001) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.1033 · Cited by 483 · see citing works
Nederkoorn, C., Houben, K., Hofmann, W., Roefs, A., & Jansen, A. (2010) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0019921 · Cited by 393 · see citing works
Franken, I. H. A., & Muris, P. (2005) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2005.04.004 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
The influence of trait and induced state impulsivity on food intake in normal-weight healthy women.
Guerrieri, R., Nederkoorn, C., Stankiewicz, K., Alberts, H., Geschwind, N., Martijn, C., & Jansen, A. (2007) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2006.11.008 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Guerrieri, R., Nederkoorn, C., & Jansen, A. T. M. (2007) · International Journal of Obesity · doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803770 · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Neurobehavioural correlates of body mass index and eating behaviours in adults: A systematic review
Vainik, U., Dagher, A., Dubé, L., & Fellows, L. K. (2012) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.11.008 · Cited by 225 · see citing works
Overcoming the urge to splurge: Influencing eating behavior by manipulating inhibitory control
Houben, K. (2011) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.02.008 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Food Sources of Saturated Fat and the Association With Mortality: A Meta-Analysis
O’Sullivan, T. A., Hafekost, K., Mitrou, F., & Lawrence, D. (2013) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2013.301492 · Cited by 168 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Saturated fat is associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality, 37 and generally related to an unhealthy lifestyle, since w Correlation significant at p o 0.05 (two-tailed).”
InfluentialThe Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: Brain Imaging, Genetics, and Psychoneuroendocrinology
Martin, E. I., Ressler, K. J., Binder, E. B., & Nemeroff, C. (2009) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2009.05.004 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Effects of negative mood induction and impulsivity on self‐perceived emotional eating
Bekker, M. H. J., van de Meerendonk, C., & Mollerus, J. (2004) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.20041 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
The role of impulsivity in pediatric obesity and weight status: A meta-analytic review
Thamotharan, S., Lange, K. L., Zale, E. L., Huffhines, L. P., & Fields, S. A. (2012) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2012.12.001 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Malloy‐Diniz, L. F., Mattos, P., Leite, W. B., Abreu, N., Coutinho, G., de Paula, J. J., Tavares, H., Vasconcelos, A. G., & Fuentes, D. (2010) · Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria · doi:10.1590/s0047-20852010000200004 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Emery, R. L., & Levine, M. (2017) · Psychological bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000105 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Cale, E. M. (2005) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2005.01.001 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Price, M. J., Lee, M., & Higgs, S. (2015) · International Journal of Obesity · doi:10.1038/ijo.2015.235 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Henn, R. L., Fuchs, S. C. P. C., Moreira, L. B., & Fuchs, F. D. (2010) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/s0102-311x2010001100008 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
The influence of age and body mass index on the metabolic syndrome and its components
Alexander, C. M., Landsman, P. B., & Grundy, S. M. (2007) · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · doi:10.1111/j.1463-1326.2006.00695.x · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Kohl, S. H., Veit, R., Spetter, M. S., Günther, A., Andriani, R., Lührs, M., Birbaumer, N., Preissl, H. T., & Hallschmid, M. (2019) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.033 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Personality disorders and obesity: a systematic review
Gerlach, G., Loeber, S., & Herpertz, S. (2016) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.12415 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Childhood anxiety associated with low BMI in women with anorexia nervosa
Dellava, J. E., Thornton, L. M., Hamer, R. M., Strober, M., Plotnicov, K., Klump, K. L., Brandt, H., Crawford, S., Fichter, M. M., Halmi, K. A., et al. (2010) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.09.009 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Dietary Behaviours, Impulsivity and Food Involvement: Identification of Three Consumer Segments
Sarmugam, R., & Worsley, A. F. (2015) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu7095379 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and self-regulation as predictors of overweight and obesity
Balani, R., Herrington, H., Bryant, E., Lucas, C., & Kim, S. C. (2019) · Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners · doi:10.1097/jxx.0000000000000169 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Neural differences of inhibitory control between adolescents with obesity and their peers
Chen, S., Jia, Y., & Woltering, S. (2018) · International Journal of Obesity · doi:10.1038/s41366-018-0142-x · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Silveira, P. P., Pokhvisneva, I., Gaudreau, H., Atkinson, L. R., Fleming, A. S., Sokolowski, M. B., Steiner, M. S., Kennedy, J. L., Dubé, L., Levitan, R. D., et al. (2017) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2017.10.021 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Subtypes of trait impulsivity differentially correlate with neural responses to food choices.
van der Laan, L. N., Barendse, M., Viergever, M., & Smeets, P. (2016) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.09.026 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Anxiety as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Diseases
Ouakinin, S. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00025 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Zhou, Z. E., SooHoo, M., Zhou, Q., Pérez, M., & Liew, J. (2019) · The Journal of Genetic Psychology · doi:10.1080/00221325.2019.1575180 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Indirect effects of trait impulsivity on body mass
Meule, A., & Jens Blechert, A. (2017) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2017.01.012 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Tseng, M., Neill, D. B., Teaford, S. F., & Nazmi, A. (2017) · Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2017.10.009 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Annesi, J. J. (2019) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-019-09772-9 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Effects of a naturally occurring stressor on health behaviors and their psychosocial correlates
Annesi, J. J. (2019) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2019.1658882 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 47 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Wiss, D., & Brewerton, T. (2020) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu12102937 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
McGreen, J., Kemps, E., & Tiggemann, M. (2023) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2023.106466 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Fernández, M. S., Pilatti, A., & Pautassi, R. M. (2022) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-022-00934-7 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Huang, P., Lee, C., Griffiths, M. D., O’Brien, K., Lin, Y.-C., Gan, W. Y., Poon, W. C., Hung, C., Lee, K., & Lin, C. (2022) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/s40337-022-00701-y · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Christófaro, D. G. D., Tebar, W. R., Silva, G. C. R., Lofrano‐Prado, M. C., Botero, J. P., Cucato, G. G., Malik, N., Hollands, K., Correia, M. D. A., Ritti‐Dias, R. M., et al. (2022) · Clinical Nutrition ESPEN · doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2022.08.010 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Labonté, K., & Nielsen, D. E. (2023) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2023.106497 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Eating ourselves to death: How food is a drug and what food abuse costs
Robinson, M. B. (2022) · Drug Science Policy and Law · doi:10.1177/20503245221112577 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Trait Anxiety and Unhealthy Eating in Adult Women: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Instability
Mróz, M., Gross, J., & Brytek-Matera, A. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20010296 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Rychescki, G. G., dos Santos, G. R., Bertin, C. F., Pacheco, C. N., Antunes, L. D. C., Stanford, F. C., & Boaventura, B. C. B. (2024) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu16234045 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Guillén-Medina, L. Y., Rodríguez-Rocha, N. P., Martínez, M. B. A., Maldonado-Ulloa, G., Mora-López, G. V., & Ojeda, G. M. (2026) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu18111767 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Ji, J., Qiu, J., Tao, Y., Xu, M., Pei, B., Wu, C., Huang, G., & Qian, D. (2024) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1403409 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Profiling Generalized Anxiety Disorder on Social Networks: Content and Behavior Analysis
Alhazzaa, L., & Ćurčin, V. (2024) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/53399 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Food-Related Impulsivity in the Triangle of Obesity, Eating Behaviors and Diet
EMİROĞLU, E., & Aktaç, Ş. (2022) · Black Sea Journal of Health Science · doi:10.19127/bshealthscience.1098930 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Tonkikh, O., Zisberg, A., & Shadmi, E. (2021) · International Journal of Nursing Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103999 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Disentangling inhibition toward food and non-food stimuli across two hunger levels: An fNIRS study
Labonté, K., Fantino, M., & Nielsen, D. E. (2024) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2024.107678 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Dantas, A. C., Borges, B. E. C., Araújo, J. N. D. M., Lopes, M. V. D. O., da Silva, A. B., & Vítor, A. F. (2025) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e42179 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
EMİROĞLU, E., & Işık, M. (2022) · Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Health Sciences · doi:10.5336/healthsci.2021-86816 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ultra-processed foods and dopamine: Parsing complexity beyond observed variability
da Fonseca, N. K. D. O., & Brietzke, E. M. (2025) · Cell Metabolism · doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2025.06.008 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Ceylan, J. A., Korkmaz, A., Hatipoğlu, A., Akçalı, Ç., & Coşkunsu, S. (2025) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2025.108398 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
INFLUÊNCIA DO TRANSTORNO DE ANSIEDADE GENERALIZADA NO COMPORTAMENTO ALIMENTAR
Ramos, R. M. D. O., Ferreira, A. W. D., de Souza, Â. M., Mallet, A. C. T., & de Souza, H. L. S. (2023) · Revista Ibero-Americana de Humanidades, Ciências e Educação · doi:10.51891/rease.v9i9.11178 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Dantas, A. C., Borges, B. E. C., Araújo, J. N. D. M., Lopes, M. V. D. O., da Silva, A. B., & Vítor, A. F. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4865272
Потанин, С. С., Ma, M., Герович, Б. А., Burminskiy, D. S., Rupchev, G., Lepilkina, T. A., & Кибитов, А. А. (2025) · V M BEKHTEREV REVIEW OF PSYCHIATRY AND MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY · doi:10.31363/2313-7053-2025-4-1093
- Authors
- Fonseca, N. K. D. O. D., Molle, R. D., Costa, M. D. A., Gonçalves, F. G., Silva, A. C., Rodrigues, Y., Price, M., Silveira, P. P., & Manfro, G. G.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)
- Swansea University (GB)
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Fonseca, Natasha Kim de O. da
- ORCID
- Venue
- Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- EDITORA SCIENTIFIC
- Published
- 2020-08
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 382-388
- ISSN
- 1516-4446 (ISSN-L)
- 1809-452X
- PMC
- PMC7430399
- OpenAlex
- W3005742065
- Cited by
- 24
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 1.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Funders
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (478820/2010)
- Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre
- Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- impulsivity, generalized anxiety disorder, dietary intake, dietary habits, inhibitory control, response inhibition, energy-dense foods, sugar consumption, saturated fat intake, body mass index, women, go/no-go task, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Eating, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Surveys and Questionnaires, Body Mass Index
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
