Effects of electrical muscle stimulation on oxygen consumption

Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) devices are being marketed as weight/ fat loss devices throughout the world. Commercially available stimulators have the ability to evoke muscle contractions that may affect caloric expenditure while the device is being used. The aim of this study was to test the effects of two different EMS devices (Abtronic and Feminique) on oxygen consumption at rest. Subjects arrived for testing after an overnight fast, had the devices fitted, and then positioned supine with expired air measured to determine oxygen consumption. After a 10-minute acclimation period, oxygen consumption was measured for 20 minutes with the device switched off (resting) then 20 minutes with the device switched on (stimulated). There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in oxygen consumption between the resting and stimulated periods with either the Abtronic (mean +/- SD; resting, 3.40 +/- 0.44; stimulated, 3.45 +/- 0.53 ml of O2[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]min-1) or the Feminique (resting, 3.73 +/- 0.45; stimulated, 3.75 +/- 0.46 ml of O2[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]min-1). In summary, the EMS devices tested had no effect on oxygen consumption during muscle stimulation.

The pulling power of chocolate: Effects of approach-avoidance training on approach bias and consumption

Previous research has shown that action tendencies to approach alcohol may be modified using computerized ApproacheAvoidance Task (AAT), and that this impacted on subsequent consumption. A recent paper in this journal (Becker, Jostman, Wiers, & Holland, 2015) failed to show significant training effects for food in three studies: Nor did it find effects on subsequent consumption. However, avoidance training to high calorie foods was tested against a control rather than Approach training. The present study used a more comparable paradigm to the alcohol studies. It randomly assigned 90 participants to ‘approach’ or ‘avoid’ chocolate images on the AAT, and then asked them to taste and rate chocolates. A significant interaction of condition and time showed that training to avoid chocolate resulted in faster avoidance responses to chocolate images, compared with training to approach it. Consistent with Becker et al.'s Study 3, no effect was found on amounts of chocolate consumed, although a newly published study in this journal (Schumacher, Kemps, & Tiggemann, 2016) did do so. The collective evidence does not as yet provide solid basis for the application of AAT training to reduction of problematic food consumption, although clinical trials have yet to be conducted.