Differentiating the abnormalities of food and monetary reward cue processing associated with overweight/obesity: an Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analysis

Authors' conclusion

Obesity represents a critical global health challenge, yet the neurocognitive distinctions in processing different rewards among individuals with OW/OB remain poorly characterized. Our findings reveal both dissociable and overlapping neural alterations during the processing of primary (food) versus secondary (monetary) rewards in OW/OB, implicating altered reward sensitivity, decision-making, and inhibitory control. The results underscore the necessity for reward-type-specific interventions targeting these neural mechanisms to address obesity-related dysregulation. Contrasts in brain activation during food and monetary reward processing between individuals with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) and normal weight (NW).