Do emotion regulation difficulties when upset influence the association between dietary restraint and weight gain among college students?
Obesity is a significant public health concern that affects more than one-fifth of adolescents aged 12-19 in the United States. Theoretical models suggest that prolonged dietary restraint leads to binge-eating behaviors, which in turn increases individuals' risk for weight gain or obesity. Results from the literature indicate a potential role for negative urgency (the tendency to act rashly when distressed) as a mediating variable that explains the link between dietary restraint and binge-eating episodes. The current study tested short-term, prospective longitudinal associations among dietary restraint, binge eating, negative urgency, and weight gain among college students - a population at increased risk for the development of overweight and obesity. We hypothesized that dietary restraint and weight gain would be mediated by negative urgency and binge eating, but only among participants with overweight and obesity. College students (N = 227) completed the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory, UPPS-P Impulsivity Scale, and self-reported weight and height to calculate body mass index. Results showed that the association between dietary restraint and weight gain was mediated by negative urgency and binge eating, but only among participants with overweight and obesity. Our findings indicated that negative urgency might represent a mechanism that explains why dietary restraint leads to future binge-eating episodes and weight gain among college students with overweight and obesity. Results suggest that future treatment and prevention programs for overweight and obesity may benefit from incorporating strategies to improve emotion regulation as a way to reduce binge eating and to prevent additional weight gain among 'at-risk' populations.
Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Tyler K
TK
Hunt
Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA. Electronic address: kforbush@ku.edu.
Kelsie T
KT
Forbush
Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Kelsey E
KE
Hagan
Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Danielle A N
DAN
Chapa
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Binge eating; Impulsivity; Negative urgency; Obesity; Restraint theory