Associations among weight-based teasing distress, impulsive emotion regulation, and loss of control eating in racially and ethnically diverse young men

Abstract

According to affect regulation models, distress associated with weight-based teasing may be related to loss of control (LOC) eating. Maladaptive coping strategies may further exacerbate this association, but such hypotheses have not been evaluated in men. The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between distress from weight-based teasing and LOC eating in racially and ethnically diverse young men. The degree to which men engage in impulsive behavior when distressed was investigated as a moderating variable. Exploratory analyses examined the proposed associations within racial/ethnic identity groups. The current study included 1011 young men (18–30 years, Mage = 23.9 ± 3.6 y, 28.3% non-Hispanic White; 23.4% African American; 24.3% Hispanic/Latino; 23.8% Asian/Asian American). Participants completed an online survey with measures of weight-based teasing, LOC eating frequency, engagement in impulsive behavior when distressed, and demographics. After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and body mass index, there was a positive association between distress from weight-based teasing and LOC eating frequency (p < .001). In the full sample, the tendency to engage in impulsive behavior when distressed exacerbated this link (p < .01). Exploratory analyses revealed the moderating effect of impulsive coping on distress from teasing was significant in non-Hispanic White men, but was not significant for all others. These findings suggest that men are not immune to the negative correlates of weight-based teasing. LOC eating may function as a maladaptive coping mechanism, or may be an artifact of the disordered eating symptoms that can emerge during extreme efforts to obtain a thinner physique.