Expressive Suppression of Emotions and Overeating in Individuals with Overweight and Obesity

Görlach, Mirja Gianna; Kohlmann, Sebastian; Shedden-Mora, Meike; Rief, Winfried; Westermann, Stefan (2016). Expressive Suppression of Emotions and Overeating in Individuals with Overweight and Obesity. European Eating Disorders Review, 24(5), pp. 377-382. Wiley 10.1002/erv.2452

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Emotions have a considerable impact on eating behaviour; however, research addressing emotion regulation in obesity is rare. The present study is the first to investigate the association between emotional suppression and overeating in individuals with overweight.

In total, 314 participants including 190 individuals with obesity filled in a cross-sectional online survey, which assessed emotional suppression, eating behaviour and psychopathology. A hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with overeating.

Individuals with obesity reported more frequent overeating compared with individuals without obesity. The habitual use of emotional suppression was associated with more overeating; however, this link was moderated by increased body mass index (BMI).

The results suggest that suppression of emotional expression contributes to overeating and is maladaptive especially in individuals with obesity. Further research should longitudinally investigate the predictive value of emotional suppression on overweight, as the training of emotion regulation could contribute to treating obesity.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology > Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology

UniBE Contributor:

Westermann, Stefan

Subjects:

100 Philosophy > 150 Psychology
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1072-4133

Publisher:

Wiley

Language:

English

Submitter:

Salome Irina Rahel Bötschi

Date Deposited:

29 May 2017 12:31

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:01

Publisher DOI:

10.1002/erv.2452

PubMed ID:

27103100

Uncontrolled Keywords:

body mass index; emotion regulation; expressive suppression; obesity; overeating

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.93322

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/93322

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