From Socioeconomic Disadvantage to Obesity: The Mediating Role of Psychological Distress and Emotional Eating

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 559 - 564
• Main Authors: Spinosa, Jade, Christiansen, Paul, Dickson, Joanne M., Lorenzetti, Valentina, Hardman, Charlotte A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological - physiology; Adolescent; Adult; Affluence; Aged; Body mass index; Children & youth; Coping; Diabetes; Eating behavior; Emotions - physiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - etiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology; Female; Food; Humans; Income; Local government; Low income groups; Male; Mental depression; Mental health; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - etiology; Obesity - psychology; Original; Psychological Distress; Public health; Questionnaires; Social Class; Socioeconomic factors; Stress; Stress, Psychological - complications; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vulnerable Populations - psychology; Vulnerable Populations - statistics & numerical data; Weight control; Young Adult; Young adults; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X
• DOI: 10.1002/oby.22402

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.