Boredom proneness and emotion regulation predict emotional eating

Abstract

Emotional eating is considered a risk factor for eating disorders and an important contributor to obesity and its associated health problems. It has been suggested that boredom may be an important contributor to overeating, but has received relatively little attention. A sample of 552 college students was surveyed. Linear regression analyses found that proneness to boredom and difficulties in emotion regulation simultaneously predicted inappropriate eating behavior, including eating in response to boredom, other negative emotions, and external cues. The unique contributions of these variables to emotional eating were discussed. These findings help to further identify which individuals could be at risk for emotional eating and potentially for unhealthy weight gain.

Emotional Eating, Binge Eating and Animal Models of Binge-Type Eating Disorders

“…The propensity to eat in response to positive [96•] and negative emotions [97,98] is called 'emotional eating' [99,100]. Laboratory-based research has shown that emotional eating is predictive of increased food intake in young people [101].…”

Mindfulness-based emotional eating awareness training: taking the emotional out of eating

“…Other facets of the emotional eating construct are potentially evident from correlates of the unidimensional measures of emotional eating. These include: reduced inhibitory control [19,20]; reduced ability to differentiate internal bodily signals [16,21]; perceived stress [22,23]; intuitive eating [24]; and difficulties in emotion regulation [25,26]. This evidence suggests that interventions should assess such 'correlates' to obtain accurate evaluation of outcomes.…”

O lazer e o uso de substâncias entre adolescentes: uma revisão integrativa

“…O Leisure Boredom ou Tédio no Lazer parece ser um dos achados mais em relação ao uso de substâncias entre adolescentes, ainda que não esteja claro como funciona esta relação (Weybright et al, 2015). O tédio é um fenômeno complexo, descrito como ansiedade, perda de significado e propósito nas atividades, acompanhado por sentimento de insatisfação, irritabilidade, estresse e sensação de aprisionamento (Crockett, Myhre, & Rokke, 2015). Assim, a propensão ao tédio tem sido associada a alguns tipos de transtornos de humor, raiva e agressividade, menor satisfação com o trabalho e com a vida, maior busca de sensações e baixos níveis de autonomia (Spaeth, Weichold, & Silbereisen, 2015).…”