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Negative affect prior to and following overeating‐only, loss of control eating‐only, and binge eating episodes in obese adults
Author(s) -
Berg Kelly C.,
Crosby Ross D.,
Cao Li,
Crow Scott J.,
Engel Scott G.,
Wonderlich Stephen A.,
Peterson Carol B.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.22401
Subject(s) - overeating , binge eating , psychology , affect (linguistics) , hostility , sadness , context (archaeology) , eating disorders , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , obesity , medicine , anger , paleontology , communication , biology
Objective The objective was to examine the trajectory of five types of negative affect (global negative affect, fear, guilt, hostility, sadness) prior to and following three types of eating episodes (overeating in the absence of loss of control [OE‐only], loss of control eating in the absence of overeating [LOC‐only], and binge eating) among obese adults using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Method Fifty obese adults (84% female) completed a two‐week EMA protocol during which they were asked to record all eating episodes and rate each episode on continua of overeating and loss of control. Momentary measures of global negative affect, fear, guilt, hostility, and sadness were assessed using an abbreviated version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Trajectories for each of the five types of negative affect were modeled prior to and following episodes of OE‐only, LOC‐only, and binge eating. Results Consistent with previous findings, global negative affect and Guilt increased prior to and decreased following binge eating episodes (all p s < .05). Guilt also decreased following OE‐only episodes ( p < .05). Discussion These results are consistent with the affect regulation model of binge eating and suggest that binge eating may function to regulate global negative affect, and more specifically, guilt among obese adults. These data suggest that the relationship between negative affect and binge eating may not be unique to individuals with clinical eating disorders and indicate that targeting negative affect may be an effective strategy for the treatment of binge eating in the context of obesity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc (Int J Eat Disord 2015; 48:641–653)