Understanding how people with Anorexia Nervosa value food
Official title: Constructing the subjective value of food in Anorexia Nervosa
Funded at University of Chicago · NIH-11180086 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to understand why people with Anorexia Nervosa consistently choose low-calorie foods, hoping to find new ways to help them make healthier food choices.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | September 14, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $561,303 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH132792-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11180086 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa and healthy volunteers would be ideal candidates for participation in this research.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose condition does not involve maladaptive food choice or who are not diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa may not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
We want to understand the brain processes and thinking patterns that lead individuals with Anorexia Nervosa to consistently choose low-calorie foods. By using advanced brain imaging (fMRI) and eye-tracking technology, we can observe how people with AN decide what foods they prefer. We will compare these patterns to those of healthy individuals to pinpoint the differences. Ultimately, this work seeks to discover how we might gently guide food preferences towards healthier options.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new and more effective treatments that help individuals with Anorexia Nervosa make healthier food choices and improve their long-term recovery.
How similar studies have gone: While the specific mechanisms of food valuation in Anorexia Nervosa are not fully understood, similar brain imaging and computational modeling approaches have successfully advanced our understanding of decision-making in other conditions.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bakkour, Akram — University of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Bakkour, Akram
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how habits influence anorexia nervosa and its remission
A research study will explore how habitual eating patterns and brain systems keep anorexia nervosa going, and how these habits might change when people recover.
-
Online guided self-help family-based treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa
A study is testing a guided self-help version of a proven family-based therapy to help adolescents with anorexia nervosa receive effective treatment more efficiently in real-world clinics.
-
Ketogenic Diet for Weight-Recovered Anorexia Nervosa to Support Metabolism and Eating-Disorder Symptoms
A research project will test a ketogenic diet to see if it helps people who have recovered weight from anorexia nervosa by normalizing brain metabolism and reducing core eating-disorder thoughts and behaviors.
-
Point-of-care RH risk tool for refeeding in anorexia nervosa
A quick, clinician-friendly risk tool helps predict who with anorexia nervosa might develop dangerous low phosphorus during hospitalization, guiding safer feeding and monitoring.
-
Guided Online Self-Help Family-Based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa
A study tests if an online guided self-help version of family-based treatment works as well as standard treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa, in real-world clinics.
-
Online guided family-based program for adolescents with anorexia nervosa
This project offers an online guided family-based program to help adolescents with anorexia nervosa improve symptoms while using much less therapist time than standard family therapy.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.