The causal associations between interoception, self-regulation, non-purposeful eating behaviors, and weight status in college women: a longitudinal cross-lagged model analysis.

AIMS: Excessive weight gain has led to increased obesity and mortality risk among college students. Issues with maintaining a healthy weight may be attributed to poor internal awareness and unhealthy eating behaviors. The study's purpose was to determine the longitudinal effects among interoception, self-regulation, nonpurposeful eating behaviors, and weight status (BMI) among college women. METHODS: Data from 103 females were collected via Qualtrics over 3 timepoints (T1, T2, T3) during an academic semester. Repeated measures ANOVA and cross-lagged model analyses were used. Significant changes were found in interoceptive responsiveness, external, and uncontrolled eating throughout 3 timepoints. RESULTS: Longitudinally, significant causal effects were found among the study measures. Among all models, higher interoceptive responsiveness (T1) predicted increased self-regulation (T2). Higher non-purposeful eating behaviors (T1) predicted reduced self-regulation (T2). Higher BMI (T1) predicted reduced non-purposeful eating behaviors (T2), however higher BMI (T2) predicted increased non-purposeful eating (T3) and reduced interoceptive responsiveness (T3). Significant causal effects were found within each non-purposeful eating behavior models. CONCLUSION: Overall, the research study provided foundational evidence of the importance of self-regulatory skills to help prevent unhealthy eating behaviors and increased weight status in college women. Future interventions educating college women to become more internally aware and better self-regulate are needed.

Interoception and self-regulation of eating behaviors and weight status in college students.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the associations between interoception, self-regulation, eating behaviors, and weight status among college students. PARTICIPANTS: 229 female undergraduates, predominantly classified as Juniors (51.1%) and identified as Hispanic/Latinx (75%) with a mean age of 23.4 (SD = 6.3), were examined. METHODS: Cross-sectional data using baseline measures from a larger, longitudinal study, were examined. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling were conducted to test hypotheses. RESULTS: Interoception was directly associated to self-regulation. Interoception and self-regulation were inversely associated with non-purposeful eating. Non-purposeful eating was directly associated with weight status. CONCLUSION: This study provided empirical evidence on the associations between interoception, self-regulation, eating behaviors, and weight status. Our results support the need for programs that target college students' cognitive skills to reduce unhealthy eating behaviors and optimize weight status. Future interventions are needed to enhance interoception and self-regulation skills so that college students can be more purposeful in their eating habits.