From socio-economic disadvantage to obesity: The mediating role of psychological distress and emotional eating

Spinosa, J, Christiansen, P, Dickson, J, Lorenzetti, V ORCID: 0000-0002-5917-7068 and Hardman, CA ORCID: 0000-0002-0744-6019 (2019) From socio-economic disadvantage to obesity: The mediating role of psychological distress and emotional eating. Obesity, 27 (4). pp. 559-564.

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Abstract

Objective Lower socioeconomic status is robustly associated with obesity; however, the underpinning psychological mechanisms remain unclear. The current study sought to determine whether the relationship between lower socioeconomic status and obesity is explained by psychological distress and subsequent emotional eating as a coping strategy. It also examined whether psychological resilience plays a protective role in this pathway. Methods Participants (N  = 150) from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds completed questionnaire measures of psychological distress, emotional eating, and resilience. They reported their income and education level as an indicator of socioeconomic status and their height and weight in order to calculate BMI. Results There was a significant indirect effect of socioeconomic status on BMI via psychological distress and emotional eating; specifically, lower socioeconomic status was associated with higher distress, higher distress was associated with higher emotional eating, and higher emotional eating was associated with higher BMI (b [SE] = −0.02 [0.01]; 95% CI: −0.04 to −0.01). However, resilience was not a significant moderator of this association. Conclusions Psychological distress and subsequent emotional eating represent a serial pathway that links lower socioeconomic status with obesity. Targeting these maladaptive coping behaviors may be one strategy to reduce obesity in low‐income populations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Humans, Obesity, Adaptation, Psychological, Stress, Psychological, Emotions, Social Class, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Middle Aged, Vulnerable Populations, Income, Female, Male, Young Adult, Surveys and Questionnaires, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Psychological Distress
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	12 Dec 2018 16:06
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 01:09
DOI:	10.1002/oby.22402
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22402
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3029915