Social Appearance Anxiety, Perfectionism, and Fear of Negative Evaluation: Distinct or Shared Risk Factors for Social Anxiety and Eating Disorders?

Social appearance anxiety, perfectionism, and fear of negative evaluation: Distinct or shared risk factors for social anxiety and eating disorders?

Appetite. 2013 Apr 11;
Levinson CA, Rodebaugh TL, White EK, Menatti A, Weeks JW, Iacovino JM, Warren CS

Social anxiety and eating disorders are highly comorbid. Social appearance anxiety (i.e., fear of negative evaluation of one’s appearance), general fear of negative evaluation, and perfectionism have each been proposed as risk factors for both social anxiety disorder and the eating disorders. However, no research to date has examined all three factors simultaneously. Using structural equation modeling in two diverse samples (N = 236; N = 136) we tested a model in which each of these risk factors were uniquely associated with social anxiety and eating disorder symptoms. We found support for social appearance anxiety as a shared risk factor between social anxiety and eating disorder symptoms, whereas fear of negative evaluation was a risk factor only for social anxiety symptoms. Despite significant zero-order relationships, two facets of perfectionism (high standards and maladaptive perfectionism) did not emerge as a risk factor for either disorder when all constructs were considered. These results were maintained when gender, body mass index, trait negative affect, and depression were included in the model. It is possible that treating negative appearance evaluation fears may reduce both eating disorder and social anxiety symptoms. HubMed – eating

Impact of an intervention through teachers to prevent consumption of low nutrition, energy-dense foods and beverages: A randomized trial.

Prev Med. 2013 Apr 10;
Rosário R, Araújo A, Oliveira B, Padrão P, Lopes O, Teixeira V, Moreira A, Barros R, Pereira B, Moreira P

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of an intervention program held by teachers previously trained in nutrition, on the consumption of low nutrient, energy-dense (LNED) foods, of children attending elementary schools. METHOD: 464 children (239 female, 6 to 12years) from seven elementary Portuguese schools participated in this randomized trial. Three schools were allocated to the intervention, and four to the control group. The intervention program was based on the Health Promotion Model and social cognitive theory. Teachers previously trained by researchers in nutrition and healthy eating implemented the intervention in the classroom from November 2008 to March 2009. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, physical activity, and dietary assessments were performed before (2007/2008) and at the end of the intervention (2009). Dietary intake was gathered by a 24-hour dietary recall and two groups of LNED foods were defined, namely SSBs and solid LNED foods. RESULTS: Children from intervention group reported a reduction whereas the control group reported an increase in solid LNED foods consumption. The odds of increasing solid LNED foods consumption was 0.48, 95%CI (0.24, 0.95) in the intervention schools. CONCLUSION: Our study provides further support for the success of intervention programs aimed at limiting the consumption of solid LNED foods in children. HubMed – eating

Happy eating I: the underestimated role of overeating in a positive mood.

Appetite. 2013 Apr 10;
Bongers P, Jansen A, Havermans R, Roefs A, Nederkoorn C

Emotional eaters are often presumed to eat in response to negative emotions, while positive emotions have been largely neglected. The current study induced a positive, negative, or neutral mood in a student sample and subsequently measured food intake. In addition, the relation between caloric intake and mood improvement was assessed. It was expected that emotional eaters would consume more food than non-emotional eaters in the emotional conditions, and also more than in the neutral condition. Moderated regression analyses indeed showed a significant increase in food intake for emotional eaters in the positive compared to the neutral condition, and a trend towards higher food consumption than non-emotional eaters. No effects were found in the negative condition. With regard to mood changes during food intake, Pearson correlations demonstrated an association between amount of calories consumed and mood improvement after five minutes of food consumption. However, there was no evidence for differences between emotional and non-emotional eaters. The current findings underline the importance of positive emotions in emotional eating, and provide new insights on the relationship between eating and mood melioration. HubMed – eating

Does overall diet in midlife predict future aging phenotypes? A cohort study.

Am J Med. 2013 May; 126(5): 411-419.e3
Akbaraly T, Sabia S, Hagger-Johnson G, Tabak AG, Shipley MJ, Jokela M, Brunner EJ, Hamer M, Batty GD, Singh-Manoux A, Kivimaki M

The impact of diet on specific age-related diseases has been studied extensively, but few investigations have adopted a more holistic approach to determine the association of diet with overall health at older ages. We examined whether diet, assessed in midlife, using dietary patterns and adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), is associated with aging phenotypes, identified after a mean 16-year follow-up.Data were drawn from the Whitehall II cohort study of 5350 adults (age 51.3±5.3 years, 29.4% women). Diet was assessed at baseline (1991-1993). Mortality, chronic diseases, and functioning were ascertained from hospital data, register linkage, and screenings every 5 years and were used to create 5 outcomes at follow-up: ideal aging (free of chronic conditions and high performance in physical, mental, and cognitive functioning tests; 4%), nonfatal cardiovascular event (7.3%), cardiovascular death (2.8%), noncardiovascular death (12.7%), and normal aging (73.2%).Low adherence to the AHEI was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death. In addition, participants with a “Western-type” diet (characterized by high intakes of fried and sweet food, processed food and red meat, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products) had lower odds of ideal aging (odds ratio for top vs bottom tertile: 0.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.94; P=.02), independently of other health behaviors.By considering healthy aging as a composite of cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, mental, and cognitive function, the present study offers a new perspective on the impact of diet on aging phenotypes. HubMed – eating

Audit of digestive complaints and psychopathological traits in patients with eating disorders: A prospective study.

Dig Liver Dis. 2013 Apr 9;
Salvioli B, Pellicciari A, Iero L, Di Pietro E, Moscano F, Gualandi S, Stanghellini V, De Giorgio R, Ruggeri E, Franzoni E

BACKGROUND: Esophago-gastrointestinal symptoms are frequently reported by patients with eating disorders. Scanty data exist on the relationship between psychopathological traits and digestive complaints. AIMS: To prospectively analyze (i) prevalence of digestive symptoms; (ii) psychopathological traits; (iii) relationship between symptom scores and psychopathological profiles. METHODS: Psychopathological and digestive symptom questionnaires were completed at baseline, at discharge, at 1 and 6 months’ follow-up in 48 consecutive patients (85.4% female, median age, 15 years) hospitalized for eating disorders. RESULTS: The most frequently reported symptoms were postprandial fullness (96%) and abdominal distention (90%). Pooled esophageal (4; IQR 0-14) and gastrointestinal (34; IQR 19-53) symptoms significantly decreased at 6 months’ follow-up (1; IQR 0-3 and 10; IQR 4-34; p<0.0001 and p<0.005, respectively). Pooled gastrointestinal symptoms significantly correlated with hypochondriasis (r=0.42, p<0.01). Both esophageal and gastrointestinal symptoms improved in patients with normal values of hypochondriasis and hysteria scales (p<0.05 and p<0.005, respectively) compared to those with pathological traits. CONCLUSIONS: Digestive symptoms are frequently reported by patients with eating disorders with their expression and outcome being influenced by psychopathological profiles. Hypochondriasis and hysteria traits are predictive factors for symptomatic improvement. HubMed – eating