Episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting and energy intake in children

Abstract

Discounting of larger future rewards in favor of smaller immediate rewards is known as delay discounting. High delay discounting or a bias towards immediate gratification impedes self-regulation and is associated with maladaptive eating behaviors. Children in general show greater delay discounting than adults. Obese children in particular, have greater difficulty delaying gratification for edible rewards. Episodic future thinking (EFT) which is mental self-projection to pre-experience future events reduces delay discounting and reduces energy intake in overweight/obese adults. However, these EFT effects have not been examined in children. We evaluated the effects of EFT versus control episodic recent thinking (ERT) on delay discounting and ad libitum energy intake while thinking about episodic cues in 42 overweight/obese 9 to 14year olds. Results showed that EFT led to less delay discounting and lowered energy intake, and EFT had the greatest effect on reducing energy intake in children with a higher desire to restrict food intake. This suggests that EFT may be useful in pediatric obesity treatment programs to help children regulate energy intake.

Keywords: Episodic future thinking; Obesity; Reducing delay discounting; Reducing energy intake.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Dr. Epstein is a consultant and has equity in Kurbo Health. All other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1

A) Mean area-under-the-curve (AUC) values (mean + SEM) for discounting of delayed rewards as a function of condition. B) Mean caloric intake (mean + SEM) as a function of condition. C) Mean caloric intake estimates as a function of condition and dietary restraint from simple slope analysis. An asterisk marks a significant difference (p