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Effort-based decision-making provides a framework to understand the mental computations estimating the amount of work ("effort") required to obtain a reward. The aim of the current review is to systematically synthesize the available literature on effort-based decision-making across the spectrum of eating and weight disorders. More specifically, the current review summarises the literature examining whether 1) individuals with eating disorders and overweight/obesity are willing to expend more effort for rewards compared to healthy controls, 2) if particular components of effort-based decision-making (i.e. risk, discounting) relate to specific binge eating conditions, and 3) how individual differences in effort and reward -processing measures relate to eating pathology and treatment measures. A total of 96 studies were included in our review, following PRISMA guidelines. The review suggests that individuals with binge eating behaviours 1) are more likely to expend greater effort for food rewards, but not monetary rewards, 2) demonstrate greater decision-making impairments under risk and uncertainty, 3) prefer sooner rather than delayed rewards for both food and money, and 4) demonstrate increased implicit 'wanting' for high fat sweet foods. Finally, individual differences in effort and reward -processing measures relating to eating pathology and treatment measures are also discussed., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

According to the Acquired Preparedness (AP) model of binge eating, individuals high in negative urgency are more likely to develop the expectancy that eating alleviates negative affect, which in turn increases the likelihood of binge eating. Although both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have provided strong support for the negative urgency version of the AP model, there are likely other personality traits and expectancies that may transact to increase risk for binge eating. We extended the AP model to examine how other high-risk personality traits related to reward and impulsivity might lead to binge eating via learned expectancies about eating. In a large sample of male and female college students (N = 998; 54.6% female), we tested the indirect effects of reward responsiveness, fun seeking, and sensation seeking on binge eating via expectancies related to positive and negative reinforcement from eating. Our results suggested an indirect effect of reward responsiveness on binge eating via the expectancy that eating is rewarding and an indirect effect of fun seeking on binge eating via the expectancies that eating is rewarding and eating alleviates boredom. In contrast, sensation seeking had neither direct nor indirect effects on binge eating. Findings suggest that there are multiple pathways from personality to binge eating that depend on differential learning experiences and should be considered in terms of prevention and treatment efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Binge eating and associated eating disorders are characterized by abnormalities in reward processing. One component of reward is willingness to expend effort to obtain a reinforcer. The Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT) is a widely used behavioral measure of willingness to work for money. We sought to modify the EEfRT to examine willingness to work for food reward and to preliminarily examine the association between binge eating and effort expenditure for food. Method: Participants were 63 females recruited to span the spectrum of binge‐eating severity. The modified EEfRT required participants to make a series of choices between an easier, low‐reward option (one portion of food) and a harder, high‐reward option (between two to five portions of food). Each trial also varied on probability of winning. Results: Participants self‐reported engagement in the task, working hard at easy and hard tasks, and making choices based on reward probability and magnitude. As with the original EEfRT, probability, reward magnitude, and their interaction predicted the likelihood of choosing the hard task. Across two different measures, binge‐eating symptoms interacted with reward magnitude, such that those with high binge eating used reward magnitude more to make trial choices than those with low binge eating. Discussion: These data provide initial support for the validity of the EEfRT modified for food as a behavioral measure of willingness to work for food reward. The impact of binge eating on effort expenditure must be replicated in samples of patients with eating disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]