Self-reported emotional eating is not related to greater food intake: results from two laboratory studies

Braden, Abby; Emley, Elizabeth; Watford, Tanya S.; Anderson, L.; Musher‐Eizenman, Dara R.

doi:10.1080/08870446.2019.1649406

Cited by 40 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Although self-reported scales are commonly used to assess EE, the validity of the DEBQ has been debated in some past studies [56,57]. Specifically, there has been conflicting evidence of increased food intake in individuals scoring high on self-reported emotional eating scales such as the DEBQ [56][57][58]. Researchers have also questioned whether such scales simply measure uncontrolled eating rather than emotional eating [56].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of negative emotional eating and its associated psychosocial factors among urban Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2021

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Background Emotional eating (EE), defined as eating in response to a range of emotions, has been previously associated with poor diet and obesity. Since there are limited data from non-Western populations, this study aims to examine the prevalence and factors associated with EE among urban Chinese university students. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 424 university students (aged 18–24 years) from two large universities in Hong Kong in 2019. Respondents completed an anonymous online questionnaire that contained background questions, an emotional eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ), and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21). Two-sample independent t-test and multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the association of study variables with negative emotional eating. Results There was over a three-fold higher likelihood of negative EE among females (14.8%) when compared with their male counterparts (4.5%) (OR = 3.7, p < 0.05). Having at least mild depressive symptoms was the only independent factor associated with negative EE among males (OR = 10.1) while for females, negative EE was independently associated with not having a romantic partner (OR = 3.45), having depressive symptoms (OR = 44.5), and having at least mild stress (OR = 5.65). Anxiety levels were not independently associated with negative EE for either gender. Both male and female students with negative EE had significantly lower self-perceived health scores, higher body mass index, and lower life satisfaction scores. Conclusions This study revealed that negative EE is prevalent among female Chinese university students and not uncommon among male students. Management of negative EE should be included as a component of university mental health promotion programmes in the region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of negative emotional eating and its associated psychosocial factors among urban Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2021

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“…Future research might thus profit from comparing various self-report scales (as done in e.g. (45) ) and explicitly testing their ecological validity (as done in e.g. (46) ) in addition to doing experimental research under controlled conditions to minimise such biases and enable causal conclusions.…”

Section: Summary and Suggestions For Future Research: Psychometric Stmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contradicting these results, Braden et al . (45) conducted two laboratory-based studies. Study 1 used a mood induction via a sad clip from a drama series and a neutral clip from a nature documentary.…”

Section: Experimental Research Questioning the Validity Of Emotional mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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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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“…First, the self‐reported measures may have been affected by bias such as social desirability. Given that experimental and self‐reported measures of EE are not always correlated, the relevance of using self‐reported measures of EE is currently under debate 70 . Thus, it would be interesting and informative to combine objective and subjective measures of EE in future studies with similar aims.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eating in case of emotion dys‐regulation, depression and anxiety: Different pathways to emotional eating in moderate and severe obesity

et al. 2020

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Summary Emotion dys‐regulation is thought to be involved in the development and maintenance of emotional eating (EE), notably through its links with anxious and depressive symptoms. AIM: The aims of the study were to: (a) examine the mediating effect of depressive and anxious symptoms on the relationship between emotion dys‐regulation and EE in obesity and (b) compare those links with various degrees of obesity severity. One hundred and twenty patients with obesity, including 60 with “n” (MO) (30 ≤ BMI < 40) and 60 with “severe obesity” (SO) (BMI > 40), completed self‐report measures of emotion dys‐regulation, depression, anxiety and EE. Partial least square structural equation modelling and multi‐group analyses were performed. Emotion dys‐regulation was found to be significantly associated with EE only when the severity of obesity was taken into account. In addition, although the MO and SO groups reported similar levels of emotional and eating disorders, significant differences were found between the groups in pathways leading to EE. In MO, emotion dys‐regulation was only associated with more EE through more anxiety. In SO, emotion dys‐regulation was both directly and indirectly associated with more EE, but only through more depression in the latter. Emotion dys‐regulation, anxiety and depression do not have the same impact on EE depending on the severity of obesity. Psychotherapeutic interventions should aim at reducing emotion dys‐regulation in obesity from MO onwards, but the focus should be on the management of anxiety‐related affects in MO and depression‐related affects in SO.

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Self-reported emotional eating is not related to greater food intake: results from two laboratory studies

Cited by 40 publications

References 35 publications

Prevalence of negative emotional eating and its associated psychosocial factors among urban Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

Prevalence of negative emotional eating and its associated psychosocial factors among urban Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional study

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

Eating in case of emotion dys‐regulation, depression and anxiety: Different pathways to emotional eating in moderate and severe obesity

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