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Journal ArticleDOI

Emotional eating in healthy individuals and patients with an eating disorder: evidence from psychometric, experimental and naturalistic studies.

13 May 2020-Vol. 79, Iss: 3, pp 290-299
TL;DR: Examination of the controversies around the emotional eating construct is examined by reviewing and integrating recent evidence from psychometric, experimental and naturalistic research and provides recommendations for future research and treatment development.
Abstract: Emotional eating has traditionally been defined as (over)eating in response to negative emotions. Such overeating can impact general health because of excess energy intake and mental health, due to the risks of developing binge eating. Yet, there is still significant controversy on the validity of the emotional eating concept and several theories compete in explaining its mechanisms. The present paper examines the emotional eating construct by reviewing and integrating recent evidence from psychometric, experimental and naturalistic research. Several psychometric questionnaires are available and some suggest that emotions differ fundamentally in how they affect eating (i.e. overeating, undereating). However, the general validity of such questionnaires in predicting actual food intake in experimental studies is questioned and other eating styles such as restrained eating seem to be better predictors of increased food intake under negative emotions. Also, naturalistic studies, involving the repeated assessment of momentary emotions and eating behaviour in daily life, are split between studies supporting and studies contradicting emotional eating in healthy individuals. Individuals with clinical forms of overeating (i.e. binge eating) consistently show positive relationships between negative emotions and eating in daily life. We will conclude with a summary of the controversies around the emotional eating construct and provide recommendations for future research and treatment development.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 2021-Appetite
TL;DR: Higher negative emotional eating was associated with higher weight concerns and global scores of disordered eating when emotion regulation difficulties was average and increased and lower dietary restraint when emotionregulation difficulties was decreased.

28 citations


Cites background from "Emotional eating in healthy individ..."

  • ...Yet, research continues to focus on negative emotional eating to the exclusion of positive emotional eating (Reichenberger et al., 2020)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that negative mood decreased the availability of cognitive resources in BN, thereby facilitating disinhibition and food cravings (increased desire-to-eat ratings), and increased sustained processing might be linked to emotional eating tendencies rather than BN pathology per se.

12 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a cross-sectional study using an online community sample of adults examined self-reported negative (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised; EE-anger/anxiety, EE-boredom, and EE-depression) and positive (Emotion Appetite Questionnaire; EE positive) emotional eating in adulthood.
Abstract: People with emotional eating (EE) may experience weight gain and obesity, eating disorder psychopathology, and emotion dysregulation Limited research has examined experiences in childhood that may be associated with EE in adulthood Perceived parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties were examined as correlates of negative and positive EE in adulthood A cross-sectional study using an online community sample of adults (N = 258) examined self-reported negative (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised; EE-anger/anxiety, EE-boredom, and EE-depression) and positive (Emotion Appetite Questionnaire; EE-positive) EE, perceived parental feeding practices (Child Feeding Questionnaire), and emotion regulation difficulties (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) Moderation analyses calculated in PROCESS macro examined emotion regulation difficulties as a moderator of relationships between perceived parental feeding practices and EE Across all models tested, age, BMI, and gender were entered as covariates Higher perceptions of parental control (monitoring and restriction) of unhealthy eating behaviors and pressure to eat were more strongly associated with EE-anger/anxiety and EE-positive when emotion regulation difficulties were high Higher perceptions of parental restriction of unhealthy eating behaviors and pressure to eat were more strongly associated with higher EE-boredom when emotion regulation difficulties were high No significant interactions between perceived parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties emerged in relation to EE-depression Perceived controlling parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties may explain meaningful variance in negative and positive EE in adulthood

12 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper used multilevel vector autoregressive network models based on ecological momentary assessment data of momentary affects, perceived stress and stress coping, hunger, food craving as well as goal-congruent eating behavior.
Abstract: Many people aim to eat healthily. Yet, affluent food environments encourage consumption of energy dense and nutrient-poor foods, making it difficult to accomplish individual goals such as maintaining a healthy diet and weight. Moreover, goal-congruent eating might be influenced by affects, stress and intense food cravings and might also impinge on these in turn. Directionality and interrelations of these variables are currently unclear, which impedes targeted intervention. Psychological network models offer an exploratory approach that might be helpful to identify unique associations between numerous variables as well as their directionality when based on longitudinal time-series data. Across 14 days, 84 diet-interested participants (age range: 18–38 years, 85.7% female, mostly recruited via universities) reported their momentary states as well as retrospective eating episodes four times a day. We used multilevel vector autoregressive network models based on ecological momentary assessment data of momentary affects, perceived stress and stress coping, hunger, food craving as well as goal-congruent eating behaviour. Neither of the momentary measures of stress (experience of stress or stress coping), momentary affects or craving uniquely predicted goal-congruent eating. Yet, temporal effects indicated that higher anticipated stress coping predicted subsequent goal-congruent eating. Thus, the more confident participants were in their coping with upcoming challenges, the more they ate in line with their goals. Most eating behaviour interventions focus on hunger and craving alongside negative and positive affect, thereby overlooking additional important variables like stress coping. Furthermore, self-regulation of eating behaviours seems to be represented by how much someone perceives a particular eating episode as matching their individual eating goal. To conclude, stress coping might be a potential novel intervention target for eating related Just-In-Time Adaptive Interventions in the context of intensive longitudinal assessment.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors provide an overview of recent neuroimaging studies, highlighting the brain correlates between emotions and eating behavior that may be involved in emotional eating and suggest that more attention should be paid to prefrontal areas, the insular and orbitofrontal cortices, and reward pathways.
Abstract: Emotional eating is commonly defined as the tendency to (over)eat in response to emotion. Insofar as it involves the (over)consumption of high-calorie palatable foods, emotional eating is a maladaptive behavior that can lead to eating disorders, and ultimately to metabolic disorders and obesity. Emotional eating is associated with eating disorder subtypes and with abnormalities in emotion processing at a behavioral level. However, not enough is known about the neural pathways involved in both emotion processing and food intake. In this review, we provide an overview of recent neuroimaging studies, highlighting the brain correlates between emotions and eating behavior that may be involved in emotional eating. Interaction between neural and neuro-endocrine pathways (HPA axis) may be involved. In addition to behavioral interventions, there is a need for a holistic approach encompassing both neural and physiological levels to prevent emotional eating. Based on recent imaging, this review indicates that more attention should be paid to prefrontal areas, the insular and orbitofrontal cortices, and reward pathways, in addition to regions that play a major role in both the cognitive control of emotions and eating behavior. Identifying these brain regions could allow for neuromodulation interventions, including neurofeedback training, which deserves further investigation.

9 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An issue concerning the criteria for tic disorders is highlighted, and how this might affect classification of dyskinesias in psychotic spectrum disorders.
Abstract: Given the recent attention to movement abnormalities in psychosis spectrum disorders (e.g., prodromal/high-risk syndromes, schizophrenia) (Mittal et al., 2008; Pappa and Dazzan, 2009), and an ongoing discussion pertaining to revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders (DSM) for the upcoming 5th edition, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight an issue concerning the criteria for tic disorders, and how this might affect classification of dyskinesias in psychotic spectrum disorders. Rapid, non-rhythmic, abnormal movements can appear in psychosis spectrum disorders, as well as in a host of commonly co-occurring conditions, including Tourette’s Syndrome and Transient Tic Disorder (Kerbeshian et al., 2009). Confusion can arise when it becomes necessary to determine whether an observed movement (e.g., a sudden head jerk) represents a spontaneous dyskinesia (i.e., spontaneous transient chorea, athetosis, dystonia, ballismus involving muscle groups of the arms, legs, trunk, face, and/or neck) or a tic (i.e., stereotypic or patterned movements defined by the relationship to voluntary movement, acute and chronic time course, and sensory urges). Indeed, dyskinetic movements such as dystonia (i.e., sustained muscle contractions, usually producing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures or positions) closely resemble tics in a patterned appearance, and may only be visually discernable by attending to timing differences (Gilbert, 2006). When turning to the current DSM-IV TR for clarification, the description reads: “Tic Disorders must be distinguished from other types of abnormal movements that may accompany general medical conditions (e.g., Huntington’s disease, stroke, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, Wilson’s disease, Sydenham’s chorea, multiple sclerosis, postviral encephalitis, head injury) and from abnormal movements that are due to the direct effects of a substance (e.g., a neuroleptic medication)”. However, as it is written, it is unclear if psychosis falls under one such exclusionary medical disorder. The “direct effects of a substance” criteria, referencing neuroleptic medications, further contributes to the uncertainty around this issue. As a result, ruling-out or differentiating tics in psychosis spectrum disorders is at best, a murky endeavor. Historically, the advent of antipsychotic medication in the 1950s has contributed to the confusion about movement signs in psychiatric populations. Because neuroleptic medications produce characteristic movement disorder in some patients (i.e. extrapyramidal side effects), drug-induced movement disturbances have been the focus of research attention in psychotic disorders. However, accumulating data have documented that spontaneous dyskinesias, including choreoathetodic movements, can occur in medication naive adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (Pappa and Dazzan, 2009), as well as healthy first-degree relatives of chronically ill schizophrenia patients (McCreadie et al., 2003). Taken together, this suggests that movement abnormalities may reflect pathogenic processes underlying some psychotic disorders (Mittal et al., 2008; Pappa and Dazzan, 2009). More specifically, because spontaneous hyperkinetic movements are believed to reflect abnormal striatal dopamine activity (DeLong and Wichmann, 2007), and dysfunction in this same circuit is also proposed to contribute to psychosis, it is possible that spontaneous dyskinesias serve as an outward manifestation of circuit dysfunction underlying some schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms (Walker, 1994). Further, because these movements precede the clinical onset of psychotic symptoms, sometimes occurring in early childhood (Walker, 1994), and may steadily increase during adolescence among populations at high-risk for schizophrenia (Mittal et al., 2008), observable dyskinesias could reflect a susceptibility that later interacts with environmental and neurodevelopmental factors, in the genesis of psychosis. In adolescents who meet criteria for a prodromal syndrome (i.e., the period preceding formal onset of psychotic disorders characterized by subtle attenuated positive symptoms coupled with a decline in functioning), there is sometimes a history of childhood conditions which are also characterized by suppressible tics or tic like movements (Niendam et al., 2009). On the other hand, differentiating between tics and dyskinesias has also complicated research on childhood disorders such as Tourette syndrome (Kompoliti and Goetz, 1998; Gilbert, 2006). We propose consideration of more explicit and operationalized criteria for differentiating tics and dyskinesias, based on empirically derived understanding of neural mechanisms. Further, revisions of the DSM should allow for the possibility that movement abnormalities might reflect neuropathologic processes underlying the etiology of psychosis for a subgroup of patients. Psychotic disorders might also be included among the medical disorders that are considered a rule-out for tics. Related to this, the reliability of movement assessment needs to be improved, and this may require more training for mental health professionals in movement symptoms. Although standardized assessment of movement and neurological abnormalities is common in research settings, it has been proposed that an examination of neuromotor signs should figure in the assessment of any patient, and be as much a part of the patient assessment as the mental state examination (Picchioni and Dazzan, 2009). To this end it is important for researchers and clinicians to be aware of differentiating characteristics for these two classes of abnormal movement. For example, tics tend to be more complex than myoclonic twitches, and less flowing than choreoathetodic movements (Kompoliti and Goetz, 1998). Patients with tics often describe a sensory premonition or urge to perform a tic, and the ability to postpone tics at the cost of rising inner tension (Gilbert, 2006). For example, one study showed that patients with tic disorders could accurately distinguish tics from other movement abnormalities based on the subjective experience of some voluntary control of tics (Lang, 1991). Another differentiating factor derives from the relationship of the movement in question to other voluntary movements. Tics in one body area rarely occur during purposeful and voluntary movements in that same body area whereas dyskinesia are often exacerbated by voluntary movement (Gilbert, 2006). Finally, it is noteworthy that tics wax and wane in frequency and intensity and migrate in location over time, often becoming more complex and peaking between the ages of 9 and 14 years (Gilbert, 2006). In the case of dyskinesias among youth at-risk for psychosis, there is evidence that the movements tend to increase in severity and frequency as the individual approaches the mean age of conversion to schizophrenia spectrum disorders (Mittal et al., 2008). As revisions to the DSM are currently underway in preparation for the new edition (DSM V), we encourage greater attention to the important, though often subtle, distinctions among subtypes of movement abnormalities and their association with psychiatric syndromes.

67,017 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The first step was a collation of items from two existing questionnaires that measure the related concepts of 'restrained eating' and 'latent obesity', to which were added items newly written to elucidate these concepts.

4,391 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Ecological momentary assessment holds unique promise to advance the science and practice of clinical psychology by shedding light on the dynamics of behavior in real-world settings.
Abstract: Assessment in clinical psychology typically relies on global retrospective self-reports collected at research or clinic visits, which are limited by recall bias and are not well suited to address how behavior changes over time and across contexts. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) involves repeated sampling of subjects’ current behaviors and experiences in real time, in subjects’ natural environments. EMA aims to minimize recall bias, maximize ecological validity, and allow study of microprocesses that influence behavior in real-world contexts. EMA studies assess particular events in subjects’ lives or assess subjects at periodic intervals, often by random time sampling, using technologies ranging from written diaries and telephones to electronic diaries and physiological sensors. We discuss the rationale for EMA, EMA designs, methodological and practical issues, and comparisons of EMA and recall data. EMA holds unique promise to advance the science and practice of clinical psychology by shedding ligh...

4,286 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Both overweight and obesity are associated with the incidence of multiple co-morbidities including type II diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and maintenance of a healthy weight could be important in the prevention of the large disease burden in the future.
Abstract: Background Overweight and obese persons are at risk of a number of medical conditions which can lead to further morbidity and mortality. The primary objective of this study is to provide an estimate of the incidence of each co-morbidity related to obesity and overweight using a meta-analysis.

3,006 citations


"Emotional eating in healthy individ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...However, human subjects regularly consume more food than needed and such overeating can lead to negative physiological and psychological health outcomes((1,2))....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) with scales for restrained, emotional, and external eating is described in this article, which indicates a high degree of stability of dimensions on the eating behavior scales.
Abstract: The development of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) with scales for restrained, emotional, and external eating is described. Factor analyses have shown that all items on restrained and external eating each have high loadings on one factor, but items on emotional eating have two dimensions, one dealing with eating in response to diffuse emotions, and the other with eating in response to clearly labelled emotions. The pattern of corrected item-total correlation coefficients and of the factors was very similar for various subsamples, which indicates a high degree of stability of dimensions on the eating behavior scales. The norms and Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the scales and also the Pearson's correlation coefficients to assess interrelationships between scales indicate that the scales have a high internal consistency and factorial validity. However, their external validity has yet to be investigated.

2,840 citations

Trending Questions (3)
How do emotions affect eating behavior with a questionnary?

The paper discusses the controversy surrounding the emotional eating construct and questions the validity of using psychometric questionnaires to predict actual food intake in experimental studies.

How may the perceived effect eating habits be described in terms of emotional health?

The paper does not directly address the perceived effect of eating habits in terms of emotional health. The paper focuses on the concept of emotional eating and its validity, as well as the relationship between negative emotions and eating behavior in healthy individuals and patients with an eating disorder.

How emotions affect eating: a five-way mode?

The provided paper does not specifically mention a "five-way mode" of how emotions affect eating. The paper discusses different theories and factors related to emotional eating but does not provide a specific five-way mode.