People make food choices based upon the motivation to consume foods that are reinforcing compared to alternatives that may be available.1 Delay discounting (DD) is a measure used to assess impulsivity, quantifying how people make decisions based on time to receive and amount of the choice presented. The food purchase task (FPT) assesses the demand for a food and how reinforcing this item is at various prices. Using a controlled feeding study design, 10 males (n=7 sedentary, n=10 endurance trained) consumed an iso-caloric, standard diet (55% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 15% protein) for 10 days, followed by a high-fat diet (55% fat, 30% carbohydrate, 15% protein) for 5 days. DD, FPT, and Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) were assessed at three time points: baseline, after the standard diet/before high-fat diet, and after the high-fat diet. Discounting rates were significantly different at baseline between sedentary and endurance trained males, with the sedentary males having higher discounting rates (mean difference 1.43, p=.037). Discounting rates for the whole sample significantly decreased between baseline (time 1) and post-STD diet/before HFD (time 2), between time 2 and after the HFD (time 3), and between time 1 and time 3 (all indicated by p<0.05). No group differences were noted over time for demand elasticity, intensity, or TFEQ measures (all indicated by p<0.05). Results could be used to advance the understanding of factors that influence impulsive and unhealthy eating behaviors and inform the development of interventions that use reinforcers to positively influence eating behaviors. / MS / Choice is a fundamental part of life, and people make decisions based on a variety of different factors, such as the amount of effort required, perceived benefits and risks of the choice, what other options are available, and what resources the person has available to them (e.g., time, money). Many dietary and lifestyle choices are unhealthy, such as choosing to consume fast food in excess or to not engage in exercise. About 2/3 of Americans are overweight, and 1/3 are obese, and about 1 in 5 of American adults meet the guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control of engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. Understanding the factors that influence unhealthy eating and lack of physical activity is crucial in order to develop effective programs that focus on changing these behaviors, as weight-loss or physical activity programs often require people to delay the immediate gratification of food in order to achieve optimal health outcomes. The present study investigates how a diet high in fat and exercise habits influence how people value rewards and make decisions. Delayed discounting is a tool used to determine much a person is influenced by immediate gratification of a reward versus waiting for a larger reward of greater worth that is available in the future. The food purchase task is used to quantify the reinforcing value of a food item by determining how much of a favorite snack food a person would purchase by depending on the price. Lastly, eating habits such as dietary restraint or loss of control are quantified by a questionnaire. Results could improve the understanding of factors that influence unhealthy decisions and support the creation of programs that aim to improve how people view and value future health outcomes.

The current epidemic of overweight and obesity has been partly credited to a growing trend for snacking and sedentary work behaviors. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional survey was to investigate whether the difference between snack food reinforcement during work and non-work hours and work food motives predicted BMI among U. S. office workers. This study was based on the theoretical framework of the individual differences theory, in the context of the behavioral choice theory and reinforcement theory. The independent variables were food reinforcement and food motives; the dependent variable was BMI. Descriptive, correlational, and exploratory analyses were used. The survey was administered to a sample of 100 adult male and female office workers using SurveyMonkey. The results of the study determined that there was a statistically significant difference in food reinforcement during work hours versus non-work hours; however, only change in intensity was a statistically significant predictor for the workers' BMI class scores (p < .05). Moreover, during work-hours, office workers were willing to exert more effort (pay more) to obtain these snack foods than during non-work hours. An increase in work intensity was associated with an increase in the odds of being obese, with an odds ratio of 1.050 (95% C.I. [1.016, 1.084]). Food motives were not associated with BMI class scores (p < .05). These analyses have provided support for the hypotheses that food reinforcement is greater during work hours among office workers. As a result, they have significant positive social change implications which include relative policy changes within companies, tailoring the workplace environment to meet individual needs, providing healthier snack food choices, and increasing prices on high energy-dense foods. The workplace environment can provide opportunities for dietary, physical and worksite environmental change as well as individual behavior changes. It is important to continue to investigate how the workplace food environment may influence energy intake and weight-related behaviors to create awareness among this population. The more individuals and organizations know about these environmental food-related behaviors, the more opportunity they may have to take action in mitigating risk for weight gain during work and non-work hours.