Associations between eating expectancies and Eating disorder symptoms in men and women

Food approach and avoidance craving: A partial test of the Ambivalence Model of Craving

Accumulating evidence from both cross-sectional and cue-reactivity studies supports the application of the Ambivalence Model of Craving (AMC) from the substance use literature to food craving. The focus of this extant work has been on the association between the two dimensions of food craving (approach and avoidance) and disordered eating behaviors. The present study extended existing validity data by investigating approach and avoidance food craving profiles and their associations with 1) disordered eating behaviors and 2) thinness/restriction and eating expectancies - a risk factor for disordered eating that is explicitly described by the AMC. It was anticipated that food craving profiles would parallel those defined by the AMC (i.e., approach oriented, avoidance oriented, ambivalent, indifferent) and that profiles defined by high avoidance food craving would be higher in compensatory behaviors, restricting behaviors, and thinness/restriction expectancies, while those defined by high approach food craving would be higher in binge eating and eating expectancies. A sample of 407 undergraduate students (54% female, 47% non-Hispanic White; Mage = 21 years) reported demographics, food craving disordered eating behaviors, and thinness/restriction and eating expectancies via an anonymous online survey. Latent profile analysis was used to test hypotheses. Hypotheses were partially supported. Four profiles were identified, but similar levels of approach and avoidance food craving were observed in each profile, with the intensity of the cravings increasing across the four profiles. Endorsement of disordered eating behaviors and expectancies also increased in intensity across the profiles. Findings suggest an additive, rather than interactive, effect of food craving.

Emotional Eating in College Students: Associations with Coping and Healthy Eating Motivators and Barriers

BACKGROUND

Emotional eating, or eating in response to stress and other negative affective states, bears negative consequences including excessive weight gain and heightened risk of binge eating disorder. Responding to stress with emotional eating is not universal, and it is important to elucidate under what circumstances and by what mechanisms stress is associated with emotional eating. This is particularly important to understand among college students, who are at risk of experiencing heightened stress and negative changes to dietary habits.

METHOD

The present study investigated the relationships among perceived stress, emotional eating, coping, and barriers to and motivators of healthy eating both concurrently and 1 year later in a sample of young adult college students (n = 232).

RESULTS

At baseline, emotional eating was significantly associated with perceived stress (r = 0.36, p < .001), barriers to (r = 0.31, p < .001) and motivators of (r =  - 0.14, p < .05) healthy eating, and avoidance coping (r = 0.37, p < .001), but not approach coping. Furthermore, avoidance coping mediated (indirect effect b = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.61) and moderated (b =  - 0.07, p = 0.04) the relationship between perceived stress and emotional eating. Contrary to study hypotheses, baseline stress levels were not associated with emotional eating 1 year later.

CONCLUSION

College students who utilize avoidance coping strategies may be particularly susceptible to the effects of stress on emotional eating. Healthy eating interventions targeting college students might address stress coping strategies in addition to reduction of barriers to healthy eating.

Psychometric evaluation of three-factor eating questionnaire -R18 in aging Finnish men with increased risk for type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Deeper comprehension of eating-related behaviour (how and why people eat) can reveal new aspects to support health and prevent type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, such research is largely missing in aging men.

AIM

The aim was to investigate suitability of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 (TFEQ-R18) in Finnish aging men which is widely used to examine factors: cognitive restraint (CR), uncontrolled eating (UE), and emotional eating (EE).

METHODS

Study population consisted of 420 men aged 50-75, who completed the TFEQ-R18 at the baseline of the T2D-GENE lifestyle intervention study. Inclusion criteria were impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and body mass index ≥25 kg/m2. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to study psychometrics (reliability, validity, and model fit) and factor structure of TFEQ-R18.

RESULTS

The items loaded to the three factors (CR, UE, EE) as in previous studies, except two items at CR factor and one at UE factor, which were therefore omitted. UE was also discovered split into two sub factors (named as 'craving' and 'loss-of-control'), UE being a higher-order (h) factor. The resultant revised version was named as Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised to 15-items with higher-order factor (TFEQ-R15h).

CONCLUSION

The original 18-item version of the TFEQ was not optimal in the population consisting of Finnish aging men with elevated T2D risk. A modified 15-item version of the TFEQ could be used to describe EB in this population instead.

Lifetime stressor exposure, eating expectancy, and acute social stress-related eating behavior: A pre-registered study of the emotional eating cycle

Eating behaviors in response to acute stressors are highly variable: whereas many individuals eat more following stressors, others eat less or show no change in food consumption. Understanding factors that predict individual differences in eating behaviors may help elucidate the psychosocial mechanisms underlying obesity, yet few experimental studies on this topic have been conducted to date. To address this issue, we conducted the present pre-registered study, where we investigated how lifetime stressor exposure moderates the extent to which eating expectancies enhance the learned association between stress-induced negative affect and snack intake. Participants were 44 women (30% non-White) between 18 and 50 years old (M = 27.9), with a mean body mass index of 25.6, who completed assessments of lifetime stressor exposure, eating behaviors, and eating expectancies (eating helps manage negative affect); in a subsequent visit, they were given snacks after an acute social stress task (TSST). The moderated moderation model (PROCESS model 3) yielded a significant three-way interaction. When eating expectancies were high, acute social stress-induced negative affect predicted greater M&M intake for women with very high total lifetime stressor exposure but less M&M intake for women with fewer lifetime stressors. These data thus highlight how lifetime stressor exposure interacts with eating expectancies and acute stress-induced negative affect to predict eating behavior. Replications in larger samples may help explain variability in stress-eating as well as how lifetime stressors contribute to obesity.

Eating expectancies among trauma-exposed Latinx college students: The role of mindful attention

Objective: Emergent research suggests that trauma-exposed Latinx college students are a particularly at-risk group for eating-related problems. For this reason, there is a need to further understand the cognitive processes that may underpin maladaptive eating among this vulnerable segment of the population. Participants: Participants included 304 trauma exposed Latinx college students (84.5% females; Mage = 22.8 years, SD = 5.79). Methods: The current study examined the role of mindful attention in relation to several distinct expectancies related to eating. Results: Results indicated that lower reported levels of mindful attention were associated with greater levels of expectancies of eating to help manage negative affect, expectancies that eating will alleviate boredom, and expectancies that eating will lead to feeling out of control. Conclusions: These findings suggest that it may be beneficial to assess for mindful attention among Latinx college students with a history of trauma exposure presenting with problematic eating behaviors.

Testing the interaction of thinness/restriction and negative affect reduction expectancies on disordered eating behavior

OBJECTIVE

Thinness/restriction expectancies (i.e., perceived rewards from thinness/dietary restriction) and negative affect reduction expectancies (i.e., beliefs that eating will reduce negative emotions) are associated with disordered eating, but have largely been studied in isolation despite evidence that individuals can endorse these expectancies simultaneously. Guided by the goal conflict model, we hypothesized that for individuals reporting high levels of one type of expectancy, stronger endorsement of the second expectancy category would be associated with more dietary restriction, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors. A secondary aim included testing an adapted goal conflict model.

DESIGN

Interaction effects were tested using multiple linear and negative binomial regressions. Exploratory indirect effect models tested the adapted goal conflict model. Given gender differences, hypotheses were tested separately by gender.

MEASURES

Participants (N = 406, 54.2% female, non-Hispanic White = 68.8%, M_age = 20.99, M_BMI = 25.05) completed measures of thinness/restriction expectancies, negative affect expectancies, dietary restriction, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging, laxative/diuretic use, compensatory exercise).

RESULTS

No statistically significant interaction of thinness/restriction and negative affect expectancies on disordered eating was observed for either the male or female sample. Main effects models revealed consistent findings across subsamples. Greater thinness/restriction expectancies were associated with more dietary restriction, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors. Greater negative affect reduction expectancies were associated with more binge eating. Exploratory indirect effect models yielded significant effects of each expectancy category on disordered eating.

CONCLUSION

Expectancies may be independent risk factors for disordered eating. Disordered eating prevention and intervention efforts may benefit from explicitly targeting thinness/restriction and negative affect expectancies.

Eating expectancies and hedonic hunger among individuals with bulimia-spectrum eating disorders who plan binge-eating episodes

OBJECTIVE

Binge planning (BP; i.e., preparatory thoughts and actions to facilitate future binge-eating episodes) is hypothesized to distract individuals from negative affect and increase the salience of food. Thus, individuals who engage in BP may report greater positive eating expectancies (i.e., beliefs about the outcomes of eating) and hedonic hunger (i.e., desire to eat for pleasure), as BP may increase the likelihood of obtaining these expected outcomes; but empirical tests of this possibility are needed.

METHOD

Prior to starting treatment, adults (N = 86) with bulimia-spectrum eating disorders were assessed for engagement in BP and self-reported on eating expectancies and hedonic hunger.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine participants (33.7%) reported planning at least one binge-eating episode in the previous 28 days. Compared to individuals who did not report BP, individuals who reported BP had greater expectancies that eating would alleviate negative affect (t = -2.54, p = .013) and boredom (U = 503.50, p = .006). Groups did not differ on levels of hedonic hunger (t = -1.68, p = .096).

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest that BP status is linked to expectancies that eating will reduce negative affect. However, more data are needed to determine the temporal relationships among eating expectancies, hedonic hunger and BP.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS

NCT02716831, NCT03673540.