The influence of body mass index on the relationship between emotions and eating in young African American adolescents

Emotional eating is one factor that has been implicated in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity. According to the psychosomatic theory of obesity, obesity results when individuals use food as a means to cope with distressing emotions, such as depression, anxiety, stress, and boredom. The link between emotional eating and overweight and obesity has been investigated in adults, but there is little research on this topic in children and adolescents. The current study used the Experience Sampling Method to investigate the moderational effect of body mass index on emotional eating in a sample of African American young adolescents. Gender and grade interactions were also assessed.;Body mass index moderated the relationship between feeling worried and the probability of eating. Contrary to expectations, heavier adolescents had the lowest likelihood of eating in response to feeling worried. Body mass index interacted with gender in the models assessing stressed and angry. For overweight girls, the experience of stress and anger predicted eating behavior. In contrast, an inverse relationship between feeling stressed and eating emerged for overweight boys. Results also revealed that regardless of weight status, eating behavior was associated with an increase in feeling great and a decrease in feeling worried.;Support for the psychosomatic theory of obesity was found for overweight girls but not for overweight boys. While additional research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn about the connection between emotional eating and overweight and obesity in youth, these results suggest that African American girls may be at increased risk. This is consistent with decades of national data indicating that African American females are at most risk for developing obesity. This research suggests that overweight children and adolescents may benefit from primary and secondary intervention efforts aimed at helping youth identify and better manage difficult feeling states.