I smell it, I (do not) want it - the influence of food odor on inhibition in restrained and non-restrained eaters

We are constantly surrounded by many food cues that can influence our eating behaviors, both consciously and nonconsciously. Previous research showed that exposure to food cues leads to decreased inhibition in non-restrained eaters and increased inhibition in restrained eaters. However, these studies were solely conducted using the visual domain, using images of food as food cues. Unlike the visual system, the olfactory system is less controlled, and its effect is less accessible to conscious awareness. Therefore, the current study investigated whether the effect of food cues on inhibition extends to the olfactory modality. Fifty-two females, 26 restrained and 26 non-restrained eaters completed two blocks of the stop-signal task: one while being primed with food odor (caramel extract) and one with no odor. The non-restrained group exhibited poorer inhibition when primed with a food odor compared to the no-odor condition. In contrast, the restrained eaters group showed greater inhibition when primed with a food odor compared to the no-odor condition. Our results replicated previous studies that used visual food stimuli but extended the literature by showing that the association between food cues and inhibition in restrained eaters is strong, automatic, and potentially exists at the nonconscious level.