Following a biopsychosocial model of food insecurity, this study examined differences in physical health and mental health outcomes among young adults ( N = 98) with and without a history of food insecurity. Young adults with a history of food insecurity had higher average levels of body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, depressive symptoms, stress, and disordered eating scores than individuals with no history of food insecurity. No differences were found with symptoms of anxiety. Future research should examine interventions targeted at decreasing negative mental health outcomes and risk for overweight among young adults who have experienced food insecurity.
Greater perceived stress and poorer resources to cope with stress may contribute to emotional eating during the transition to college. The relationship between perceived stress and emotional eating may vary by BMI.
This study sought to examine whether social support moderates the relationship between stress eating and body mass index (BMI) change over the freshman year in males and females. This longitudinal study included 70 college students (72.9% female; M age = 18.23) who completed self-reported measures of stress eating and perceived social support, with objective height and weight measurements collected. Among males, social support moderated the relationship between stress eating and BMI change. Among males, social support may serve as a buffer against the impact of stress eating on weight gain during the freshman year of college.
Introduction:Although families face many barriers to obtaining and maintaining a healthy weight status for children, there remains a lack of psychometrically sound tools to assess perceived barriers. The Barriers to Child Weight Management (BCWM) scale quantitatively assesses parents' perceptions of barriers to engaging in positive weightrelated behaviors but has not been validated within a clinical sample. The present study sought to validate the BCWM scale among parents of children presenting to a tertiary pediatric weight management clinic. Method: Participants included 258 parents of children aged 6 -18 years presenting to a tertiary care behavioral weight management program. Parents completed the BCWM prior to the initial clinic visit. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the previously identified 4-factor structure within a clinical sample. Results: Overall model fit was good with the addition of 2 theoretically appropriate model respecifications, 2 (144) ϭ 278.60, p Ͻ .001, comparative fit index ϭ .90, root mean square error of approximation ϭ .05, standardized root mean square residual ϭ .06. Discussion: The BCWM is a promising tool to assess parental perceptions of barriers to healthy weight-related behaviors among youth presenting for clinical weight management intervention. Incorporation of this measure into pediatric weight-management appointments may aid in quickly identifying points of intervention.
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