Time-of-day and day-of-week patterns of binge eating and relevant psychological vulnerabilities in binge-eating disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to characterize the temporal patterns of binge eating and theorized maintenance factors among individuals with binge-eating disorder (BED). METHOD: Ecological momentary assessment of 112 individuals and mixed-effects models were used to characterize the within- and between-day temporal patterns of eating behaviors (binge eating, loss of control only eating, and overeating only), positive and negative affect, emotion regulation difficulty, and food craving. RESULTS: Risk for binge eating and overeating only was highest around 5:30 p.m., with additional binge-eating peaks around 12:30 and 11:00 p.m. In contrast, loss of control eating without overeating was more likely to occur before 2:00 p.m. Risk for binge eating, loss of control only eating, and overeating only did not vary across days in the week. There was no consistent pattern of change in negative affect throughout the day, but it decreased slightly on the weekend. Positive affect showed a decrease in the evenings and a smaller decrease on the weekend. The within-day patterns of food craving, and to some extent emotion regulation difficulty, resembled the pattern of binge eating, with peaks around meal times and at the end of the night. DISCUSSION: Individuals with BED appear most susceptible to binge-eating around dinner time, with heightened risk also observed around lunch time and late evening, though the effects were generally small. These patterns appear to most strongly mimic fluctuations in craving and emotion dysregulation, although future research is needed to test the temporal relationships between these experiences directly. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: It is unknown which times of the day and days of the week individuals with binge-eating disorder are most at risk for binge eating. By assessing binge-eating behaviors in the natural environment across the week, we found that individuals are most likely to binge in the evening, which corresponds to the times when they experience the strongest food craving and difficulty with regulating emotions.

The rewarding effects of alcohol after bariatric surgery: do they change and are they associated with pharmacokinetic changes?

BACKGROUND: Research shows that surgery patients who have undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are at increased risk for an alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, the mechanisms through which this increased risk is incurred are poorly understood. A host of variables have been proposed as potentially causal in developing AUDs, but empirical examination of many of these variables in human samples is lacking. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to examine the extent to which alcohol pharmacokinetics (PK), the rewarding effects of alcohol, and the relationship between these variables change from before to after weight loss surgery. SETTING: Large healthcare facility in the Midwest United States METHODS: Thirty-four participants completed assessments before and 1 year after RYGB. They completed laboratory sessions and provided data on the PK of alcohol and the extent to which alcohol was reinforcing to them at each timepoint. RESULTS: Findings show that the PK effects of alcohol (P < .01) and how rewarding alcohol was reported to be (P < .01) changed from before to 1 year after weight loss surgery. Further, statistically significant increases in the association between these variables were witnessed from before to 1 year after surgery (P < .01). CONCLUSION: These results implicate changes (from before surgery to one year after) in the reinforcing and PK effects of alcohol as possible mechanisms for increased risk of alcohol use disorder following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

Naturalistically assessed associations between physical activity, affective functioning, and binge eating among adults with binge-eating disorder.

Binge-eating disorder (BED) is associated with overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and disturbances in affective functioning. While research suggests that physical activity (PA) may have beneficial effects on BED symptoms, little is known about the daily correlates of PA. As a first step in understanding the processes linking PA and binge eating, this study examined associations between PA (i.e., self-reported time engaged in moderate-to-vigorous PA), affective functioning (i.e., positive and negative affect, body satisfaction, emotion regulation), and eating-related cognitions and behaviors (i.e., craving, overeating, loss of control eating) measured via ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Adults with BED (N = 91) completed a seven-day EMA protocol during which they completed repeated measures of these variables. Results indicated individuals who reported greater time engaged in PA over the EMA protocol evidenced higher positive affect and body satisfaction, and lower overeating (between-subjects effects). No significant within-subjects effects were observed. Findings demonstrate that individual differences in PA levels were related to more adaptive affective functioning and eating regulation in daily life. Results highlight the relevance of PA in BED, and the need for future studies to identify the timescale of these relationships using objective measurements of PA.

Review of Changes in the Reinforcing Effects of Alcohol in Weight Loss Surgery Patients.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The reinforcing effects of alcohol are well documented, and they have been shown to play a role in the development of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Also well established is the fact that post-weight loss surgery (WLS) patients are at an increased risk for AUDs. In the current manuscript, we review the notion that the reinforcing effects of alcohol may change from before to after WLS and discuss a number of determinants of alcohol reinforcement change in WLS patients. RECENT FINDINGS: It has been increasingly well understood that WLS patients are at an increased risk for AUD, but empirical support for the mechanisms that may cause this phenomenon have been lacking. Recently, a model was proposed that offered a number of different potentially causal variables as mechanisms that result in increased risk for AUD in these surgical patients. Change in the extent to which alcohol is reinforcing to WLS patients may be key in determining the likelihood of AUDs in this group. We review a host of biological, psychological, and social variables that ultimately impact how reinforcing alcohol is to WLS patients.

Ability to tolerate distress moderates the indirect relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and loss-of-control over eating via affective lability.

INTRODUCTION: Loss-of-control eating (LOCE), inability to refrain from or cease eating, may contribute to significant distress and dysfunction, yet research is lacking specificity on vulnerabilities contributing to LOCE as an independent construct. Preliminary evidence indicates potential roles of distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and affective lability, but the relationship between these variables and LOCE has been under-assessed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A sample (N = 3968) consisting of university students completed an assessment of pathological eating and affiliated affective vulnerabilities. A latent variable structural equation model (SEM) was generated to predict LOCE by way of affective lability and indirectly, emotion regulation difficulties and low distress tolerance, controlling for general eating pathology. RESULTS: Findings indicated a significant direct effect of affective lability on LOCE, as well as significant indirect effects of emotion regulation difficulties and distress tolerance on LOCE, via affect lability. Additionally, distress tolerance moderated the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and affective lability, such that lower ability to tolerate distress strengthened the relationship and higher distress tolerance capability attenuated it. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest an influence of distress tolerance on the relationship between poor emotion regulation and affective lability, which in turn may affect LOCE. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Eating expectancies before bariatric surgery: assessment and associations with weight loss trajectories.

BACKGROUND: While presurgical eating behaviors have demonstrated limited prognostic value, cognitions regarding the effects of eating may serve as important predictors of weight loss outcomes after bariatric surgery. The Eating Expectancies Inventory (EEI) is a commonly used, self-report measure of expected consequences of eating; however, its psychometric and predictive properties have not yet been evaluated among bariatric surgery patients. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine the factor structure and internal consistency of the EEI among bariatric surgery candidates, to examine relationships between EEI factors and measures of eating psychopathology, and to explore the effects of eating expectancies on postsurgical weight loss. SETTING: Data originated from an interdisciplinary bariatric surgery center in the Midwest United States. METHODS: Two hundred sixty-two women completed self-report questionnaires before bariatric surgery. Presurgical data and available postsurgical weights (at 6, 12, and 18 mo) were obtained from medical records. RESULTS: Analyses indicated that the original 5-factor model was a good-to-excellent fit for the EEI data. All EEI factors demonstrated good reliability and were significantly associated with eating disorder symptoms and behaviors at baseline. Higher scores on EEI Factor 1 (negative affect) and Factor 5 (alleviates boredom) predicted poorer weight loss at 18 months postsurgery (n = 132). CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the reliability and validity of the EEI among female bariatric candidates. Presurgical eating expectancies were linked to pathologic eating patterns and also predicted postsurgical weight loss trajectories, suggesting that eating expectancies may have prognostic value as predictors of bariatric surgery outcomes.