International Journal of General Medicine (May 2024)
Eating Behaviors and Adiposity Indicators – Observations from the 2016/17 Examination of the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg
Abstract
Kirsten Mehlig,1 Pawel Sliwa,1 Ann Blomstrand,1 Lena Farhan,1 Tore Hällström,2 Dominique Hange1,3 1School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; 2Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; 3Research, Education, Development & Innovation, Primary Health Care, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, SwedenCorrespondence: Kirsten Mehlig, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box 453, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden, Tel +46 766 186844, Email [email protected]: To determine the cross-sectional association between eating behavior in terms of the three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ) and adiposity measures.Methods: The TFEQ-R21 was administered to 573 women aged 38 and 50 who participated in the population study of women in Gothenburg 2016/17. Three domains, emotional eating (EE), uncontrolled eating (UE), and cognitive restraint (CR) were examined as outcomes as well as predictors of adiposity outcomes. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for age, education, lifestyle factors, and dieting behavior.Results: All TFEQ domains were positively associated with dieting. EE and UE were associated with higher consumption of sweets and CR with lower consumption of sweets. Wellbeing was negatively associated with EE and UE. In mutually adjusted models, EE and CR but not UE were positively associated with BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, and skinfold. One standard deviation higher EE was associated with obesity, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, OR = 1.62 (1.26, 2.10), and abdominal fatness, WC > 88 cm, OR = 1.57 (1.26, 1.95). Former and current dieting were positively associated with these outcomes, too, but UE and CR were not associated in mutually adjusted models.Conclusion: This study shows that emotional eating behavior is associated with adiposity in a population of middle-aged women, over a large range of values for body fatness, and independent of dieting behavior. The results imply that treatment of obesity should include psychological support to restrict the risk for emotional eating in response to states of negative mood.Keywords: three-factor eating questionnaire, eating behavior, dieting, obesity, adiposity, women, population-based study
