Reproduction and Discrimination of Time in Obese Subjects

Abstract

Two studies were conducted on time perception in obese subjects. In study 1, 20 obese and 20 normal-weight subjects were required to reproduce time intervals of 2, 4, and 8 seconds duration that had been signaled by an auditory cue by holding down a button. Obese subjects were found to be significantly less accurate on this task as well as more variable in their time estimations. In study 2 the same subjects discriminated between time durations of 2 or 2.4 seconds, 4 or 4.4 seconds, and 8 or 8.4 seconds. A signal detection analysis was employed to evaluate the possible role of response bias factors. Obese subjects were found to be less successful at discriminating the differences, although significant differences were only found with female subjects. The signal detection analysis revealed the differences were not due to response bias factors. The results support the internal-external theory of obesity by showing that obese subjects are inferior on time estimation tasks that require monitoring of internal cues related to the passage of time.