Attention to food cues following media multitasking is associated with cross-sectional BMI among adolescents.

PURPOSE: To measure attention to food cues following a multitask or a sustained attention single task, and further, to examine the associations with current weight status and excess consumption.

METHODS: Ninety-six 13-to 17-year-olds were fed a standardized meal and then had their attention to food cues measured following completion of a single sustained attention task, media multitask, or a passive viewing control task. Participants then completed an eating in the absence of hunger paradigm to measure their excess consumption. Adolescents completed each condition on separate visits in randomized order. Attention to food cues was measured by computing eye-tracking measures of attention, first fixation duration, and cumulative fixation duration to distractor images while participants played the video game, Tetris. Participants also had their height and weight measured.

RESULTS: Although not statistically significant, attention to food cues was greatest following a media multitask and weakest following a task that engaged sustained attention when compared to a control. First fixation duration was positively and statistically significantly associated with BMI-Z when measured following a multitask. Cumulative fixation duration was not associated with BMI-Z. There were no associations between BMI-Z and attention to food cues after the attention or control task, nor any association between attention to food cues and eating in the absence of hunger.

CONCLUSION: Among adolescents, we found that current adiposity was related to attention to food cues following a multitask. Multitasking may perturb the cognitive system to increase attention to food cues.