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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2016

M. Amlung ,
T. Petker ,
J. Jackson ,
I. Balodis  and
J. MacKillop
M. Amlung*
Affiliation:
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
T. Petker
Affiliation:
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
J. Jackson
Affiliation:
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
I. Balodis
Affiliation:
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
J. MacKillop
Affiliation:
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Homewood Research Institute, Homewood Health Centre, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
*
*Address for correspondence: M. Amlung, Ph.D., Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3K7, Canada. (Email: amlungm@mcmaster.ca)
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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.

Keywords

Body mass indexdelay discountingimpulsivitymeta-analysesobesity
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 46 , Issue 11 , August 2016 , pp. 2423 - 2434
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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