Emotional eating in women with generalized anxiety disorder

Abstract Introduction Individuals diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) seek pleasurable foods to avoid their negative emotional experiences. Ineffective regulation of negative emotions may be a risk factor for emotional eating (EE), leading to suffering, dysfunctional behaviors, and weight gain. Objectives The aim of this study is to understand the relationship between emotional dysregulation and EE, investigating potential mediators such as the intensity of the worry, avoidance of internal experiences, mindfulness, and self-compassion in female patients with anxiety. Methods In this cross-sectional study, participants from a randomized clinical trial diagnosed with GAD answered the following instruments at baseline: the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), the Action and Acceptance Questionnaire (AAQ), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). We estimated Pearson correlation coefficients and performed mediation analyses. Results We evaluated 51 female individuals, 34 of whom completed all the questionnaires. Our data showed that EE was positively correlated with emotional dysregulation (r = 0.593; p < 0.001), worry trait (r = 0.402; p = 0.018), and avoidance of internal experiences (r = 0.565; p < 0.001), whereas it was negatively correlated with self-compassion (r = -0.590; p < 0.001) and mindful state (r = -0.383; p = 0.026). Moreover, we demonstrated that self-compassion mediates the relationship between emotional dysregulation and EE (ab product estimate = 0.043, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.003-0.084). Conclusion Our findings contribute to the literature by identifying psychological factors that could mediate the association between emotional dysregulation and EE, enabling identification of more effective eating behavior intervention targets for patients with GAD.

Impulsivity influences food intake in women with generalized anxiety disorder

Objective: Eating behavior is affected by psychological and neurocognitive factors. However, little is known about this relationship in anxious patients. Our aim was to investigate the associations between impulsivity, inhibitory control, energy-dense food consumption, and body mass index (BMI) in women with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 51 adult females with GAD answered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and participated in a go/no-go task using food images. Anthropometric measurements were evaluated. A food frequency questionnaire and a snack test were used to study eating behavior. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were performed to analyze the variables of interest, adjusted by age. Results: Impulsivity predicted intake of sugar (p = 0.016, 95%CI 0.67-6.05), total fat (p = 0.007, 95%CI 0.62-3.71), and saturated fat (p = 0.004, 95%CI 0.30-1.48). The snack test showed a positive correlation between presence of impulsivity and intake of biscuits (R = 0.296; p = 0.051). Response inhibition to food images in the go/no-go task paradigm did not predict BMI or food intake. Conclusion: Impulsivity was predictive of higher sugar and saturated fat intake in women diagnosed with GAD. Our findings add to the literature regarding the association between neuropsychological factors and food consumption in this specific population.