No Differential Reward Responsivity and Drive, Punishment Sensitivity or Attention for Cues Signaling Reward or Punishment in Adolescents With Obesity

Although it has been proposed that obese and healthy weight individuals might differ in their reward and punishment sensitivity, the literature shows diverse and inconsistent findings. The current study was set out to examine the role of reward and punishment sensitivity in adolescent obesity by differentiating between reward responsivity and reward drive, and by complementing self-report measures with performance-based measures indexing attention for cues signaling reward and punishment as well as effort to approach reward and avoid punishment. Participants were adolescents aged 12-23, with obesity (n = 51, adjusted BMI [(actual BMI/Percentile 50 of BMI for age and gender) × 100) between 143 and 313%], and with a healthy weight (n = 51, adjusted BMI between 75 and 129%). Individuals with obesity did not significantly differ from adolescents with a healthy weight in reward responsivity, reward drive or attention to cues signaling reward. Further, no differences in self-reported punishment sensitivity or attention for cues signaling punishment were found between obese and healthy weight adolescents. The current study thus does not corroborate the theories that general reward and punishment sensitivity play a role in obesity.