TITLE:
Depressive Symptoms and Food Intake among Weight-Preoccupied Women: Do Eating Behaviors and Attitudes or BMI Mediate This Association?
AUTHORS:
Julie Maltais-Giguère, Catherine Bégin, Marie-Pierre Gagnon-Girouard, Mélodie Daoust, Véronique Provencher
KEYWORDS:
Depressive Symptoms, Food Intake, Eating Behaviors and Attitudes, Body Mass Index, Women
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.20,
December
11,
2014
ABSTRACT: Associations
between depressive symptoms, dysfunctional eating behaviors and attitudes,
higher food intake and body mass index (BMI) have been previously observed.
However, few studies have assessed these variables in the same study. The first
objective is to compare, in a natural setting environment, the profile of women
reporting lower or higher levels of depressive symptoms in terms of food
intake, eating behaviors and attitudes, and BMI. The second objective is to
test mediational models for which the link between depressive symptoms and food
intake would be mediated by eating behaviors and attitudes or BMI.
Weight-preoccupied women were recruited (n = 323), and their level of
depressive symptoms was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory. The median
score was used to create two groups (lower ≤ 13; higher > 13). A web-based
food-frequency questionnaire, the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, and the
Intuitive Eating Scale were completed. BMI was calculated from reported body
weight and height. Compared to women with a lower level of depressive symptoms,
those with a higher level of depressive symptoms reported a higher energy
intake (p = 0.02), and a higher consumption
of savoury foods (p = 0.02). These
women also had higher scores of disinhibition (p p = 0.0002), ate less intuitively (p p = 0.005). Association between depressive symptoms and energy
intake was mediated by disinhibition, susceptibility to hunger and eating for physical rather than emotional reasons,
while the role of BMI was less clear. Regarding another component of
food intake, association between depressive symptoms and consumption of savoury
foods was mediated by disinhibition and eating for physical rather than
emotional reasons. In summary, it seems essential to be aware of the presence
of depressive symptoms and to pay attention to eating behaviors and attitudes
in interventions among weight-preoccupied women.