Disordered eating includes core eating disorder symptoms present in diverse populations. The extant literature has focused on associations between negative emotional eating and disordered eating to ...the exclusion of positive emotional eating. Emotion regulation may help explain relationships between emotional eating and disordered eating. Emotion regulation difficulties was examined as a moderator of relationships between negative and positive emotional eating and disordered eating including dietary restraint, eating, weight, and shape concerns, and global scores of disordered eating, a general index of disordered eating. A cross-sectional study was employed using a university student population in the United States. Participants completed surveys assessing negative (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire; Emotional Appetite Questionnaire) and positive (Emotional Appetite Questionnaire) emotional eating, emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), and disordered eating (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire). Moderation analyses were calculated with emotion regulation difficulties as the moderator of relationships between negative and positive emotional eating and disordered eating. Across two separate measures of negative emotional eating, higher negative emotional eating was associated with higher weight concerns and global scores of disordered eating when emotion regulation difficulties was average and increased (+1 SD above average). Higher positive emotional eating was associated with lower dietary restraint and global scores of disordered eating when emotion regulation difficulties was decreased (−1 SD below average). Emotion regulation difficulties strengthened relationships between negative, not positive, emotional eating and disordered eating. Research and clinical implications for the contribution of emotional eating and emotion regulation on disordered eating were discussed.
Extensive research exists on the association between self-reported emotional eating (EE) and disordered eating (DE) behaviors. Heterogeneity exists by type (e.g., unidimensional vs. multidimensional) ...and valence (e.g., negative vs. positive) of self-reported EE, and no previous meta-analyses have examined the association between self-reported EE and DE behaviors. A total of 67 studies (N = 26,289; 43 reporting relations in one model, and 24 reporting relations in more than one model) met inclusion criteria; ranges for age and publication date were 18.0–61.8 years old and 1995 to 2022. Five models quantified relations between DE behaviors and 1) broad negative EE, 2) EE in response to depression, 3) EE in response to anger and anxiety, 4) EE in response to boredom, and 5) EE in response to positive emotions. Using random-effects models, pooled Cohen's d effect sizes suggested small, positive relations between DE behaviors and self-reported broad negative EE (d = 0.40, p < 0.001), EE-depression (d = 0.41, p < 0.001), EE-anger/anxiety (d = 0.35, p < 0.001), and EE-boredom (d = 0.38, p < 0.001). A significant, but very small, positive relation was observed between DE behaviors and self-reported EE-positive (d = 0.08, p = 0.01). Subgroup analyses suggested a medium, positive relation between self-reported broad negative EE and binge eating (d = 0.53, p < 0.001) and a small, positive relation between self-reported broad negative EE and dietary restraint (d = 0.20, p < 0.001). Significant heterogeneity was identified across all models except for the EE-boredom and DE behaviors model. Higher BMI, but not age, clinical status, or type of DE behavior strengthened the positive relation between self-reported broad negative EE and DE behaviors. Findings support previous research suggesting that negative and positive EE are distinct constructs, with negatively valenced EE being more closely associated with DE behaviors, especially binge eating.
Binge eating is present in obesity and clinical eating disorder populations and positively associated with poor health outcomes. Emotional eating may be related to binge eating, but relationships ...with emotional reactivity remain unexplored. The present study examined the relationships between negative and positive emotional eating and emotional reactivity in predicting binge eating. A cross-sectional study was employed using an online community sample in the United States. Participants (N = 258) completed surveys assessing negative (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised, depression subscale) and positive emotional eating (Emotional Appetite Questionnaire), negative and positive emotional reactivity (Perth Emotional Reactivity Scale), and binge eating (Binge Eating Scale). Six moderation analyses were calculated with negative and positive emotional reactivity (ease of activation, intensity, and duration) as moderators of the relationship between negative and positive emotional eating, respectively, and binge eating. Increased negative emotional eating was associated with increased binge eating when duration of negative emotional reactivity was 1 standard deviation above average (p < .001), but at 1 standard deviation below average (p < .001), increased negative emotional eating was associated with decreased binge eating. Increased positive emotional eating was associated with increased binge eating when intensity (p < .01) of positive emotional reactivity was 1 standard deviation above average and when activation (p < .05) of positive emotional reactivity was slightly above 1 standard deviation above average. Increased positive emotional eating was associated with decreased BE when intensity of positive emotional reactivity was 1 standard deviation below (p < .05) average. Emotional reactivity may uniquely impact the relationship between emotional eating and binge eating. Research and clinical implications for the contribution of negative and positive emotional eating and emotional reactivity on binge eating are discussed.
Direct relationships between perceived discrimination and eating pathology in ethnic minorities are well-documented. However, theoretical work examining unique risk and resilience factors that ...strengthen or weaken the relation between these constructs in ethnic minorities is lacking. The current study aims to address this gap by incorporating stress-process and tripartite frameworks to examine social and personal resources as they relate to perceived discrimination and eating pathology. In a sample of Black, Asian, and Latine women (N = 296, M age = 30.82), social support did not mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and eating pathology. A significant interaction effect was observed for thin-ideal internalization strengthening the relation between perceived discrimination and negative emotional eating. Thin-ideal internalization moderated the relation between perceived discrimination and negative emotional eating in Latine Women, and disordered eating in Black Women. Overall, findings suggest ethnic minority Women have both personal and social resources that may influence the strength of effect on the relation between perceived discrimination on eating pathology.
Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African (A-MENA) American women are often subject to intersectional discrimination, and they have also not been traditionally recognized as a distinct racial group in ...disordered eating literature. No study to date has provided descriptive information on disordered and emotional eating A-MENA American women, nor has examined perceptions of widely used measurements of eating pathology in this population. The current study generated descriptive information among A-MENA women on two widely used measures of eating pathology, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Emotional Eating Scale (EES). Participants (N = 244) were A-MENA adult women were recruited via social media and snowball sampling. Qualitative findings provide potential sociocultural predictors of disordered eating that should be further explored, such as bicultural identity and family pressures/comments toward appearance. Secondly, themes from the EES-R indicate adding emotion of shame and considering identity-related stress. The current study provides prevalence data and future directions of research on widely used eating pathology and appearance attitude measurements for A-MENA American women.
•A-MENA American women are highly underrepresented in the eating disorder literature.•Descriptive information for EDEQ-28, EDEQ-7, and EES-R are provided.•Familial pressures and unique cultural contexts in relation to disordered eating were revealed.•Recommendations made to the EES-R include the emotion of shame and identity-related stress.•Future directions of research are discussed.
Objectives
Negative emotional eating and binge eating are positively related, occur in diverse populations, and may be driven by similar mechanisms. Mindfulness facets such as acting with awareness, ...describe, non‐judgement, non‐reactive, and observe may moderate the relationship between these maladaptive eating phenotypes.
Method
A cross‐sectional study assessed emotional eating‐depression (Emotional Eating Scale‐Revised, depression subscale), trait mindfulness facets (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire‐Short Form), and binge eating severity (Binge Eating Scale) in adults (N = 258).
Results
Emotional eating‐depression was less strongly associated with binge eating severity in participants with higher acting with awareness mindfulness. Emotional eating‐depression was more strongly associated with binge eating severity in participants with higher non‐reactive mindfulness.
Conclusions
Acting with awareness and non‐reactive mindfulness may be important treatment targets in concurrent presentations of emotional eating‐depression and binge eating.
Background
Mindfulness is a meaningful therapeutic target in the treatment of emotional eating in adults with overweight/obesity. Descriptive research mapping relations between mindfulness facets and ...emotional eating types in treatment-seeking adults with overweight/obesity is needed.
Methods
Cross-sectional relations between mindfulness facets (i.e., acting with awareness, describe, non-judgment, non-reactive, and observe; Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form) and emotional eating types (i.e., self-reported negative and positive emotional eating; Emotional Eating Scale-Revised, Emotional Appetite Questionnaire) were examined in a treatment-seeking sample of adults with overweight/obesity (
N
= 63).
Results
Significant bivariate correlations revealed negative relations between mindfulness facets and emotional eating types. Multiple regressions revealed that higher describe (
β
= − 0.42,
p
= 0.004) mindfulness was associated with lower self-reported emotional eating–anger/anxiety; higher non-reactive (
β
= − 0.31,
p
= 0.01) and non-judgment (
β
= − 0.28,
p
= 0.02) mindfulness were associated with lower self-reported emotional eating-depression; and higher non-judgment (
β
= 0.26,
p
= 0.04) mindfulness was associated with higher self-reported emotional eating-positive.
Conclusions
Describe, non-judgment, and non-reactive mindfulness were uniquely and significantly associated with eating in response to negative and positive emotions. Results suggest the potential need for intervention programs to be sensitive to the multidimensional nature of mindfulness in the treatment of distinct types of emotional eating in adults with overweight/obesity.
Level of evidence
V, cross-sectional descriptive study.
Background
People with emotional eating (EE) may experience weight gain and obesity, eating disorder psychopathology, and emotion dysregulation. Limited research has examined experiences in childhood ...that may be associated with EE in adulthood. Perceived parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties were examined as correlates of negative and positive EE in adulthood.
Methods
A cross-sectional study using an online community sample of adults (
N
= 258) examined self-reported negative (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised; EE-anger/anxiety, EE-boredom, and EE-depression) and positive (Emotion Appetite Questionnaire; EE-positive) EE, perceived parental feeding practices (Child Feeding Questionnaire), and emotion regulation difficulties (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale).
Results
Moderation analyses calculated in PROCESS macro examined emotion regulation difficulties as a moderator of relationships between perceived parental feeding practices and EE. Across all models tested, age, BMI, and gender were entered as covariates. Higher perceptions of parental control (monitoring and restriction) of unhealthy eating behaviors and pressure to eat were more strongly associated with EE-anger/anxiety and EE-positive when emotion regulation difficulties were high. Higher perceptions of parental restriction of unhealthy eating behaviors and pressure to eat were more strongly associated with higher EE-boredom when emotion regulation difficulties were high. No significant interactions between perceived parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties emerged in relation to EE-depression.
Conclusions
Perceived controlling parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties may explain meaningful variance in negative and positive EE in adulthood.
Background
Although bariatric surgery is an established treatment for obesity, less is known regarding the long-term effects of surgery on psychiatric function. This paper reports changes in ...psychiatric treatment status, weight, and weight-related comorbidities over 5 years of follow-up among a population of veterans completing bariatric surgery.
Methods
We assessed 55 veterans undergoing bariatric surgery at a single Veteran Affairs medical center for 5 years post-surgery. Patients completed a pre-surgery clinical interview with a licensed psychologist
.
Using computerized medical records, we tracked pre- to post-surgery involvement with antidepressants, anxiolytics, psychotherapies, and overall psychiatric treatment visits along with changes in weight and metabolic function.
Results
Rates of antidepressant use and/or involvement with psychotherapy for depression declined from 56.4 % at pre-surgery to 34.6 % at 5 years post-surgery,
p
= 0.01. Anxiolytic use and/or involvement with psychotherapy for anxiety, however, increased from 23.6 to 32.7 % pre- to 5 years post-surgery. Average psychiatric treatment volume remained similar to pre-surgery status across follow-up. These mixed indicators of psychiatric improvement occurred despite marked metabolic improvements from surgery. Mean percent excess weight loss = 51.7 and 41.3 (1 and 5 years post-surgery, respectively), systolic blood pressure (−6.8 mmHg (14.3)/−6.1 mmHg (12.8), respectively), glucose levels (−18.6 mg/dL (30.2)/−10.0 mg/dL (25.9), respectively), triglycerides (−78.2 mg/dL (96.7)/−69.1 mg/dL (102.2), respectively) and high-density lipoproteins (+7.1 (9.9)/+11.3 (11.3), respectively) levels each improved.
Conclusions
We report evidence of decreased antidepressant use and depression therapies following bariatric surgery, but no improvements on rates of anxiolytic use and anxiety therapies or on overall psychiatric treatment involvement
.
Despite metabolic improvements, bariatric patients with psychiatric histories may warrant ongoing attention to mental health.
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