After a four-hour fast, to ensure participants would be hungry, they were shown pictures of food items, including low-calorie foods (such as whole grain cereals, salads, fresh vegetables and fruit); high-calorie foods (including cheeseburgers, hot dogs, French fries, ice cream, cake and cookies), and nonfood objects with similar visual complexity, texture and color (e.g., rocks, shrubs, bricks, trees and flowers). The MRI scan documented brain responses to each image.

Those in the successful weight loss maintenance group responded differently to these pictures compared to the other groups. Specifically, researchers observed strong signals in the left superior frontal region and right middle temporal region of the brain - a pattern consistent with greater inhibitory control in response to food images and greater visual attention to food cues.

"It is possible that these brain responses may lead to preventive or corrective behaviors - particularly greater regulation of eating - that promote long-term weight control," said McCaffery, who is also an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior (research) at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "However, future research is needed to determine whether these responses are inherent within an individual or if they can be changed."

Source: Lifespan