title: To eat or not to eat; is that really the question? An evaluation of problematic eating behaviors and mental health among bariatric surgery candidates.
abstract: Problematic eating behaviors, such as emotional eating, and food addiction, may affect weight; however, little is known about these eating behaviors, especially among those seeking bariatric surgery. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of problematic eating behaviors and to investigate their relationship with other eating behaviors, body mass index (BMI), and psychiatric symptoms. There were 142 patients who completed a required psychiatric evaluation prior to bariatric surgery. Of these, 16.9 % met criteria for a food addiction and 25.4-40.7 % endorsed emotional eating, depending on type of emotional eating. The number of food addiction symptoms endorsed was related to emotional eating. Both food addiction and emotional eating were related to anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, surprisingly, BMI was not related to a food addiction diagnosis, emotional eating scores, or psychiatric symptoms. Results from this study suggest that problematic eating behaviors are occurring among bariatric surgery candidates. Furthermore, this study may help to address the conflicting research regarding the effects of psychiatric symptoms on weight-loss outcomes. Perhaps it is the problematic eating behaviors (e.g., food addiction and emotional eating) that are associated with psychiatric symptoms that could be influencing outcomes. Future research should evaluate treatments for problematic eating behaviors and whether treatments improve weight-loss success.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Health, Henry Ford Health System, Henry Ford Hospital, 2799 W. Grand Blvd. CFP-2, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA, millerlisar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lisa Renee
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Miller-Matero
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hyde-Nolan
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eshelman
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Genaw
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000523:psychology*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery