The association between emotional eating and depressive symptoms: a population-based twin study in Sri Lanka

The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (COTASS): Piloting the Feasibility of Collecting Nutritional Data and Extension of the Sample to Include Children of Twins

Nutrition and diet are key modifiable risk factors for the rising burden of non-communicable diseases like cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs). The nutritional transition in dietary behaviours in LMICs has most likely contributed to this problem. Although traditionally assumed to be environmental, dietary choices are also genetically influenced. Twin study designs can be used to investigate the relative influence of genes and environment on nutrition intake, eating behaviours and associated psychological health. The overall aim of this project is to: provide proof-of-concept for the feasibility of using dietary (biomarker) data within the Children-of-Twin design in nutrition studies, develop laboratory skills and statistical genetic skills and establish a Sri Lankan-specific food composition database. Currently, a pilot study is being conducted with 304 individuals (38 Monozygotic twin pairs, 38 Dizygotic twin pairs and their male or female adult offspring). Questionnaire data on nutritional intake, eating behaviours, psychological well-being, physical health, and bio-specimens are being collected. A Sri Lankan-specific food composition database was developed, training sessions on macro and micro element analysis in biological samples and statistical genetics skills development were conducted and Community Engagement and Involvement programs were carried out in two districts of Sri Lanka.

Negative emotional eating patterns among American university students: A replication study

Emotional eating (EE) has been consistently associated with obesity, weight gain, and certain eating disorders (EDs). Given the cultural influence on food consumption and eating styles, comparison of EE patterns of individuals in culturally distinct nations (e.g., USA and China) could yield interesting differences in findings. However, given the increasing convergence in eating practices between the above-mentioned nations (e.g., higher reliance on outdoor eating at restaurants among Chinese adolescents), EE patterns might share significant similarities. The present study examined EE patterns of American college students and is a replication of the study done by He, Chen, Wu, Niu, and Fan (2020) on Chinese college students. Responses of 533 participants (60.4% women, 70.1% White, aged 18-52 (mean age = 18.75, SD = 1.35), mean self-reported body mass index = 24.22 kg/m² and SD = 4.77) on the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (Emotional overeating and emotional undereating subscales) were examined using Latent Class Analysis to identify specific patterns of EE. Participants also completed questionnaire measures of disordered eating and associated psychosocial impairment, depression, stress, and anxiety symptoms, and a measure of psychological flexibility. A solution with four classes emerged, i.e., emotional over- and undereating (18.3%), emotional overeating (18.2%), emotional undereating (27.8%), and non-emotional eating (35.7%). Current findings replicated and extended findings from He, Chen, et al. (2020) in that the emotional over- and undereating class exhibited the highest risks for depression, anxiety, stress, and psychosocial impairment due to disordered eating symptoms as well as lower psychological flexibility. Individuals who have difficulty with awareness and acceptance of their emotions appear to engage in the most problematic form of EE and could benefit from Dialectical behavior therapy and Acceptance and commitment therapy skills training.

The aetiological relationship between depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life: A population-based twin study in Sri Lanka

Objective

Depression often co-occurs with poor health-related quality of life (HRQL). Twin studies report genetic and individual-level environmental underpinnings in the aetiology of both depression and HRQL, but there is limited twin research exploring this association further. There is also little evidence on sex differences and non-Western populations are underrepresented. In this paper we explored the phenotypic and aetiological relationship between depressive symptoms and HRQL and possible sex differences in a low-middle-income Sri Lankan population.

Method

Data for 3,948 participants came from the Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study (CoTaSS-2). Using self-report measures of depressive symptoms and HRQL, we conducted univariate and bivariate sex-limitation twin analyses.

Results

Depressive symptoms showed moderate genetic (33%) and strong nonshared environmental influences (67%). Nonshared environment accounted for the majority of variance in all the subscales of HRQL (ranging from 68 to 93%), alongside small genetic influences (ranging from 0 to 23%) and shared environmental influences (ranging from 0 to 28%). Genetic influences were significant for emotional wellbeing (23%). Shared environmental influences were significant for four out of the eight HRQL variables (ranging from 22–28%), and they were more prominent in females than males. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated with lower HRQL scores. These correlations were mostly explained by overlapping nonshared environmental effects. For traits related to emotional functioning, we also detected substantial overlapping genetic influences with depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

Our study confirmed previous findings of a negative association between depressive symptoms and HRQL. However, some of the aetiological factors of HRQL differed from Western studies, particularly regarding the effects of shared environment. Our findings highlight the importance of cross-cultural research in understanding associations between psychological wellbeing and HRQL.

The Role of the Environment in Overweight and Eating Behavior Variability: Insights from a Multivariate Twin Study

Research has emphasized the genetic basis of individual differences in body mass index (BMI); however, genetic factors cannot explain the rapid rise of obesity. Eating behaviors have been stipulated to be the behavioral expression of genetic risk in an obesogenic environment. In this study, we decompose variation and covariation between three key eating behaviors and BMI in a sample of 698 participants, consisting of 167 monozygotic, 150 dizygotic complete same-sex female twins and 64 incomplete pairs from a population-based twin registry in the southeast of Spain, The Murcia Twin Registry. Phenotypes were emotional eating, uncontrolled eating and cognitive restraint, measured by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire and objectively measured BMI. Variation in eating behaviors was driven by nonshared environmental factors (range: 56%-65%), whereas shared environmental and genetic factors were secondary. All three eating behaviors were correlated with BMI (r = .19-.25). Nonshared environmental factors explained the covariations (Emotional eating-Uncontrolled eating: rE = .54, 95% CI [.43, .64]; BMI-Cognitive restraint: rE = .15, 95% CI [.01, .28]). In contrast to BMI, individual differences in eating behaviors are mostly explained by nonshared environmental factors, which also accounted for the phenotypic correlation between eating behaviors and BMI. Due to the sample size, analyses were underpowered to detect contributions of additive genetic or shared environmental factors to variation and covariation of the phenotypes. Although more research is granted, these results support that eating behaviors could be viable intervention targets to help individuals maintain a healthy weight.