Food addiction and emotional eating are associated with intradaily rest-activity rhythm variability.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present investigation was to study the associations among parameters characterizing eating behavior and actimetry-derived indices of circadian rhythm of motor activity. METHODS: The study involved 81 healthy participants (average age: 21.5 ± 9.6 y, women: 77.8%). Each study participant provided personal data, filled out the Yale Food Addiction Scale and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and wore a wrist actimeter for 7 consecutive days to record motor activity. Using time series treatments, we obtained: (a) three cosinor-derived parametric indices [Medline Estimating Statistics of Rhythm (MESOR), amplitude, and acrophase], and (b) four non-parametric indices [interdaily stability, intradaily variability (I.V.), most active 10-h period (M10), and least active 5-h period] characterizing the 24-h rhythm of motor activity. A multiple regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, and BMI was performed to assess the associations among the studied indicators. RESULTS: It was shown that I.V. is a predictor of symptoms of food addiction (ß = 0.242, P = 0.037) and emotional eating (ß = 0.390, P = 0.004), MESOR is a predictor of symptoms of food addiction (ß = 0.342, P = 0.003), and M10 predicts restraint (ß = 0.257, P = 0.015) and emotional eating (ß = 0.464, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: It was shown for the first time that an increase in symptom counts of food addiction is associated with an increase in the average level and fragmentation of 24-h rhythm of motor activity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Improvement in 6-min Walk Test Distance Following Treatment for Behavioral Weight Loss and Disinhibited Eating: an Exploratory Secondary Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Poor functional exercise capacity is common among those with obesity; however, objective measures of exercise capacity are rarely examined in behavioral treatments targeting obese individuals. We examined whether a 4-week acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention for disinhibited eating or a behavioral weight loss (BWL) intervention improved exercise capacity and explored demographic and disinhibited eating variables related to exercise capacity. METHODS: Veterans (n = 61), randomized to receive ACT or BWL, completed an assessment of exercise capacity via the 6-min walk test (6MWT) at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Measures of disinhibited eating patterns and body mass index (BMI), at baseline and post-treatment, were also collected. Change in 6MWT distance and treatment group differences were examined using mixed ANOVAs. Characteristics related to baseline 6MWT and predictors of improvement in 6MWT at 6 months were examined with hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: There were overall significant improvements on the 6MWT from baseline to 6-month follow-up (F(1,59) = 11.14, p = .001, ηp2 = .159) but no differences between the ACT and BWL groups. Baseline BMI (ß = - .33, p = .005) was the only variable related to baseline 6MWT. Improvements on the 6MWT were related to younger age (ß = - .41, p = 0.001), female gender (ß = .36, p = .001), and treatment-related increases in dietary restraint behaviors (ß = .42, p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Functional exercise capacity improved among participants completing behavioral interventions for weight and disinhibited eating. Improvements in dietary behavior regulatory skills may have generalized to improved regulation in other behavioral domains associated with exercise capacity.

The dual-pathway model of binge eating: Is there a need for modification?

The dual-pathway model proposes that body dissatisfaction might lead to binge eating (BE) through restraint eating and negative affect. Both pathways have been confirmed longitudinally, but there is evidence that the affect-pathway might rather be found in the short-term, whereas other variables might be involved over longer periods. Research suggests that self-esteem represents a key-factor in the etiology of BE in adolescent girls and might serve as a mediator between body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. Based on these findings, the aim of this study was to investigate the original dual-pathway model across 20 months and to evaluate a modified version of the model with self-esteem instead of negative affect as a mediator in the affect-pathway. We assessed eating pathology, negative affect and self-esteem by self-report in a sample of 523 adolescent girls at two time points separated by 20 months. Data were analyzed using a cross-lagged panel design. Both, the original and the modified model provided good fit to the data, but results yielded limited support for the assumptions of the original model. Neither restraint eating nor negative affect mediated the link between body dissatisfaction and BE. The modified model fit the data slightly better and results indicated that low self-esteem mediated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and BE. Notably, our results indicated that restraint eating might even reduce the risk for BE through the enhancement of self-esteem. Results suggest that the dual-pathway model could benefit from the inclusion of a more trait-like variable such as self-esteem when evaluated across the long-term. Furthermore, our findings indicate that healthy restraint eating might have positive effects on self-esteem, thereby reducing risk for BE in adolescent girls, who are dissatisfied with their bodies.

Eating behavior style predicts craving and anxiety experienced in food-related virtual environments by patients with eating disorders and healthy controls.

Eating behavior style (emotional, restrictive, or external) has been proposed as an explanation for the differences in response to food-related cues between people who overeat and those who do not, and has been also considered a target for the treatment of eating disorders (EDs) characterized by lack of control over eating and weight-related (overweight/obesity) conditions. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between eating behavior style and psychophysiological responses (self-reported food craving and anxiety) to food-related virtual reality (VR) environments in outpatients with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) and to compare them with healthy participants. Fifty-eight outpatients and 135 healthy participants were exposed to palatable foods in four experimental everyday real-life VR environments (kitchen, dining room, bedroom and café). During exposure, cue-elicited food craving and anxiety were assessed. Participants also completed standardized instruments for the study purposes. ED patients reported significantly higher levels of craving and anxiety when exposed to the virtual food than healthy controls. Eating behavior styles showed strong associations with cue-elicited food craving and anxiety. In the healthy group, external eating was the only predictor of cue-elicited craving and anxiety. In participants with BN and BED, external and emotional eating were the best predictors of cue-elicited craving and anxiety, respectively.

To eat or not to eat: Effects of food availability on reward system activity during food picture viewing.

Neuroimaging studies have started to explore the role of food characteristics (e.g., calorie-content) and psychological factors (e.g., restrained eating, craving) for the human appetitive system, motivated by the significant health implications of food-choice, overeating and overweight/obesity. However, one key aspect of modern food environments, food availability, especially of high energy foods, has not been adequately modeled in experimental research. Food that is immediately available for consumption could elicit stronger reward system activity and associated cognitive control than food that is not currently available for consumption and this could vary as a function of energy density. To examine this question, 32 healthy participants (16 women) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while passively viewing available foods - i.e. foods that could be eaten during and after the experiment - and unavailable foods of either high or low-caloric density in a 2 × 2 design. Available compared to unavailable foods elicited higher palatability ratings as well as stronger neural activation in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), amygdala, and left caudate nucleus as well as in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) - and thus structures implicated in reward and appetitive motivation as well as cognitive control, respectively. Availability effects in the caudate were mainly attributable to the high calorie condition (availability × calorie density interaction). These neuroimaging results support the contention that foods are particularly rewarding when immediately available and particularly so when high in caloric density. Thus, our results are consistent with health promoting interventions utilizing a nudging approach, i.e. aiming at decreasing accessibility of high calorie and increasing accessibility of low calorie foods in daily life. Results also imply that controlling/manipulating food availability may be an important methodological aspect in neuroscientific eating research.

Associations between Abnormal Eating Styles and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study among Medical School Students.

(1) Background: Few studies have investigated the association between eating styles and IBS. This study aimed to explore the association between abnormal eating styles and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). (2) Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated students in China Medical University and Shenyang Medical College. Eating styles were evaluated by the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and IBS was diagnosed according to Rome III criteria. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). (3) Results: A total of 335 students were diagnosed with IBS. Students with the total scores in tertile 2 and 3 had 1.29 times and 2.75 times higher risk of IBS than students with the total scores in tertile 1, respectively. Simultaneously, the risk of IBS in the tertile 3 of external eating, emotional eating, and restraint eating trends was 3.87 times, 2.71 times, and 3.82 times higher than that of tertile 1, respectively. (4) Conclusions: this study showed that a high score in both total eating styles and each eating style was associated with the odds of having IBS and suggested that the psychological factors behind eating styles may play a critical role in controlling the IBS.

A cross-country examination of emotional eating, restrained eating and intuitive eating: Measurement Invariance across eight countries.

This study examined the measurement invariance of three scales that assessed emotional eating, restrained eating, and intuitive eating across eight countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States) in order to determine their suitability for cross-country body image research. A total of 6272 young adults took part in this study. Participants completed an online survey including the Emotional Eating subscale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised 21, the Restraint subscale of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, and the Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues subscale of The Intuitive Eating Scale-2. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate potential cross-country differences in functioning of the measures. Partial invariance for all three scales was found, with only minor levels of non-invariance identified. Multiple indicator multiple cause models identified BMI and gender as potential influences on scores for these measures. Sources of invariance across groups are discussed, as well as implications for further substantive research across countries involving these measures.

How does thinking in Black and White terms relate to eating behavior and weight regain?

This study explores the role of dichotomous thinking on eating behavior and its association with restraint eating and weight regain in a wide range of people. In a web-based survey with 241 adults, dichotomous thinking and behavioral outcomes related to eating (restraint eating, weight regain, body mass index, dieting) were assessed. Results showed that eating-specific dichotomous thinking (dichotomous beliefs about food and eating) mediates the association between restraint eating and weight regain. We conclude that holding dichotomous beliefs about food and eating may be linked to a rigid dietary restraint, which in turn impedes people's ability to maintain a healthy weight.