Question 1

What is the document’s main objective regarding reward processing in overweight/obesity?

Accepted Answer

To synthesize fMRI evidence and delineate common and distinct neural abnormalities when individuals with overweight/obesity process food versus monetary reward cues, compared with normal-weight controls.

Question 2

How were studies identified and analyzed in this meta-analysis?

Accepted Answer

The review searched Web of Science, PubMed, and PsycInfo through May 2025, followed a registered PROSPERO protocol, and used Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) with MRIcroGL for MNI-coordinate visualization.

Question 3

What neural differences were reported between food and monetary reward cue tasks?

Accepted Answer

Across both reward types, overlapping reduced activation was reported in regions including the left posterior cingulate cortex and insula. Food-reward tasks showed increased activation in areas such as bilateral caudate nucleus, hippocampus, ACC, and medial prefrontal cortex alongside decreased amygdala responses, while monetary-reward tasks showed increased activation in the right lateral nucleus and hypothalamus and decreased activation in the right STN and posterior ventral lateral nucleus.