Negative affect and cue-induced overeating in non-eating disordered obesity.
The recent separation of non-eating disordered obesity into a subtype that is high in negative affect and a subtype that is low in negative affect led to the hypothesis that the two subtypes would show opposite eating responses to typical triggers of overeating. Overweight/obese and normal weight participants, clustered into high and low negative affect subtypes, took part in an experiment using a control condition and two typically disinhibiting manipulations: negative mood induction and tasty food exposure. In accordance with the hypothesis, the negative mood induction and the food exposure elicited overeating in the overweight/obese high negative affect subtype. The overweight/obese low negative affect subtype did not eat more after negative mood induction and food exposure than without a trigger for overeating. Likewise, the normal weight participants did not show differential responses to the three manipulations. The increased vulnerability to overeating in this non-eating disordered overweight/obese subtype that is characterized by increased negative affect shows that individual differences play a crucial role in the way overweight/obese people handle temptations of the current environment. Being characterized by high negative affect makes it more difficult for the overweight/obese to resist temptations. Future studies into non-eating disordered obesity should consider the existence of these two subtypes.
Jansen
Anita
A
Maastricht University, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht, The Netherlands. a.jansen@psychology.unimaas.nl
Vanreyten
Annoesjka
A
van Balveren
Tessa
T
Roefs
Anne
A
Nederkoorn
Chantal
C
Havermans
Remco
R
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D013851:Thinness / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult