Emotional eating and physical activity self-efficacy as pathways in the association between depressive symptoms and adiposity indicators

Abstract

Background: There is increasing evidence that depressive symptoms and obesity are positively related, but the mechanisms that explain the association between them are unclear. Objective: We examined direct and indirect associations between depressive symptoms, emotional eating, physical activity (PA) selfefficacy (ie, an individual's confidence in his or her ability to overcome barriers to maintain PA behaviors), and adiposity indicators. Design: Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized mediation model in Finnish men (n = 2312) and women (n = 2674) aged 25-74 y from the National Cardiovascular Risk Factor Survey conducted in 2007. The Center for Epidemiologic StudiesDepression Scale, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18, and a PA barriers self-efficacy scale were used. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and percentage body fat of participants were measured in a health examination. Results: Depressive symptoms and emotional eating had positive correlations and PA self-efficacy had negative correlations with BMI, WC, and percentage body fat. Elevated depressive symptoms were related to higher emotional eating (b = 0.38 for men and 0.31 for women) and lower PA self-efficacy (b = 20.41 for men and 20.31 for women), whereas emotional eating and PA self-efficacy were inversely correlated (r = 20.12 and 20.18, respectively). The positive bivariate associations between depressive symptoms and adiposity indicators became nonsignificant in models that included emotional eating and PA self-efficacy, and both of these factors significantly mediated the effects of depressive symptoms on adiposity indicators. Conclusions: Psychological factors related to both eating and PA may be relevant in explaining the positive relation between depressive symptoms and adiposity. Interventions that target obesity should take into account the effects of these factors on weight regulation.Am J Clin Nutr 2010;92:1031-9.

Sex and dieting modify the association between emotional eating and weight status

“…Women also showed a greater association between EmE and BMI or rate of overweight, which supported data of a previous study that showed a slightly greater association in women than men (12). Other studies showed diverging results such as a similar association in both sex (11), an association in men only (10,14), or an association in women only (20). The greater association observed in women could suggest that, independent of the level of EmE, overeating after an emotion is more marked in this group, with, eg, the consumption of larger portions or selection of more energy-dense food.…”

“…The literature contains conflicting results regarding a potentially different association between EmE and weight status according to sex, with a greater strength of association in women than men (12), a comparable level of association in both sexes (11), and an association in men only (10,14) or in women only (20).…”

“…Age (11)(12)(13), sex (8,(11)(12)(13), smoking status (never smoker, former smoker, or current smoker) (25), education level (primary, secondary, or university) (11,13), and physical activity (11) were provided. Physical activity was declared by participants by using a short form of the French version of the International Physical Activity questionnaire, which was self-administered online (26).…”

Depressive Symptoms Are Associated with Excess Weight and Unhealthier Lifestyle Behaviors in Urban Adolescents

“…An important limitation of the study is the cross-sectional design, which prevents us from making statements about temporality and causality. Further, a bidirectional relationship between efficacy beliefs and depression has been postulated, 19,51 with depressive symptoms leading to a sense of low efficacy, and this inefficacy belief, in turn, increasing the sense of hopelessness and depressive symptoms, thus creating a detrimental cycle for the adolescent. The lack of prospective data prevents us from testing this bidirectionality.…”

Assessing mood in older adults: a conceptual review of methods and approaches

“…However, non-clinical patterns of mood state, that is everyday mood in the general population, also have important associations with health and well-being. For instance, mood states in healthy adult populations have been associated with biological indicators of health such as blood pressure and cortisol levels (Steptoe and Wardle, 2005) and somatic symptoms such as poor appetite and stomach upsets (Charles and Almeida, 2006), as well as health-related behaviors such as exercise (Powell et al, 2009) eating habits (Konttinen et al, 2010), and patterns of cognitive ability (Hill et al, 2005). Mood states also color and shape our subjective mental experiences and fundamentally contribute to levels of happiness (Diener, 2000) and quality of life (Kelley-Gillespie, 2009).…”