Emotion and eating in obesity? A critical analysis.
Psychosomatic theories hold that the obese abnormally increase eating in response to emotional distress. Empirical support for this assertion has come mainly from self-report studies. A review of the literature for methodological rigor reveals that many studies previously considered supportive are substantially flawed with regard to control groups, failure to control Type-I error rate, and the possibility of confounding of social desirability and other response sets with self-reports of emotional eating. Five alternative conceptualization of the obesity-emotional eating association are presented along with suggested research which would elucidate the nature of this frequently reported connection.
Allison
D B
DB
Obesity Research Center, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, St. Luke's Hospital, New York, NY 10025.
Heshka
S
S
D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D012106:Research