Association between Eating Alone and Metabolic Syndrome: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to construct and test a structural equation model for the risk factors of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. The structural equation model hypothesizes that eating alone and feeling depressed is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome. The data of this study were obtained from the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which was cross-sectional data from the representative national survey. A total of 4,013 subjects replied to the survey item of lifestyle and completed the physical examinations among adults aged 19 years or older in South Korea was in 2015. The structural model in this study was composed of four latent variables: eating alone, depression, negative health behavior, and metabolic syndrome. Two variables, the rate of eating alone and depression, were exogenous variables. Negative health behavior was both a mediating variable and endogenous variable, and metabolic syndrome was the final endogenous variable. The data were analyzed using the Maximum Likelihood method and bootstrapping. The structural model was appropriate for the data based on the model fit indices. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: Eating alone is a direct risk factor of metabolic syndrome in Korean women. Depression can mediate metabolic syndrome through negative health behaviors. Negative health behavior had a direct impact on metabolic syndrome in both men and women. This study may be a guideline for interventions and strategies to reduce the incidence of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.