Obesity, Eating Behavior, and Mental Health
Stephen L. Brown, PhD, Peggy Wrobleski, MPH, and Glenn Schiraldi, PhD
Recently, the office of the Surgeon General released a collaborative report highlighting the epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States. What is particularly alarming is the increasing rate among younger segments of the population. There has been a renewed call for research identifying the multifaceted causes of these conditions and methods that may lead to prevention. This would include not only biological causes, but environmental and behavioral influences as well. One potential factor may relate to eating patterns or habits. For example, do some people overeat due to external cues such as: rich taste or smell, frequent proximity to food establishments, or eating-related behaviors of associates? Another pattern may lie in the concept of “comfort foods”. In other words, eating as a conditioned response to unpleasant emotional states such as: boredom, discouragement, worry, fear, or anger.
This study will correlate eating patterns/motivations (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire) with measures of obesity (approximated by BMI). We will also investigate whether emotional eating is related to symptoms of mental illness (Zung Depression Scale, Speilberger Anxiety Inventory, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). In addition, this study will also investigate the hypothesis that some of these patterns may have been learned in childhood from parents, guardians, or older siblings. For example, did any of these caretakers offer food as a means of comfort for physical or emotional hurt? Data will be obtained from several hundred participants at two public universities via self-report instruments. The study will be completed August, 2003.