title: Internalization of appearance ideals mediates the relationship between appearance-related pressures from peers and emotional eating among adolescent boys and girls.
abstract: Appearance-related pressures have been associated with binge eating in previous studies. Yet, it is unclear if these pressures are associated with emotional eating or if specific sources of pressure are differentially associated with emotional eating. We studied the associations between multiple sources of appearance-related pressures, including pressure to be thin and pressure to increase muscularity, and emotional eating in 300 adolescents (Mage=15.3, SD=1.4, 60% female). Controlling for age, race, puberty, body mass index (BMI) z-score, and sex, both pressure to be thin and pressure to be more muscular from same-sex peers were positively associated with emotional eating in response to feeling angry/frustrated and unsettled (ps<0.05). Pressure from same-sex peers to be more muscular also was associated with eating when depressed (p<0.05), and muscularity pressure from opposite-sex peers related to eating in response to anger/frustration (p<0.05). All associations were fully mediated by internalization of appearance ideals according to Western cultural standards (ps<0.001). Associations of pressures from mothers and fathers with emotional eating were non-significant. Results considering sex as a moderator of the associations between appearance-related pressures and emotional eating were non-significant. Findings illustrate that both pressure to be thin and muscular from peers are related to more frequent emotional eating among both boys and girls, and these associations are explained through internalization of appearance-related ideals.
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, College of Education, 5207 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Nichole R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Natasha A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Schvey
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Sheila M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Department, Hatfield Clinical Research Center, NIH, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Amber B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Courville
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanofsky-Kraff
authors.affiliation: Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIH, DHHS, 6707 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Susan Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Yanovski
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Jack A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yanovski
authors.affiliation: Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado State University, 1570 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: lauren.shomaker@colostate.edu.
authors.forename: Lauren B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Shomaker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D000067074:Peer Influence; D000067029:Physical Appearance, Body; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Emotional eating; Internalization of appearance ideals; Pressure to be muscular; Pressure to be thin