CRC/Transregio TRR 134, Project C03: Metabolic-cognitive control of food choices and long-term dietary success in ageing

Long-term weight loss maintenance is the main challenge of obesity treatment. The sustained regulation of hedonic food intake is thought to critically rely on metabolic and cognitive control. To disentangle the impact of both mechanisms on dietary choices in young and older dieters we plan to combine our established intranasal insulin protocols with an fMRI food choice task in which self-control is manipulated by focusing participants’ attention on short- (i.e. taste) and long- (i.e. healthiness) term stimuli features. The re-investigation of a large sample of older dieters and controls thereby allows for the identification of metabolic-cognitive profiles predictive for successful weight management after 3.5 years.