Body weight status, eating behavior, sensitivity to reward/punishment, and gender: relationships and interdependencies.

Anja Dietrich,Annette Horstmann,Arno Villringer,Martin Federbusch,Claudia Grellmann

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01073

Abstract

Behavioral and personality characteristics are factors that may jointly regulate body weight. This study explored the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and self-reported behavioral and personality measures. These measures included eating behavior (based on the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire; Stunkard and Messick, 1985), sensitivity to reward and punishment (based on the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales) (Carver and White, 1994) and self-reported impulsivity (based on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11; Patton et al., 1995). We found an inverted U-shaped relationship between restrained eating and BMI. This relationship was moderated by the level of disinhibited eating. Independent of eating behavior, BIS and BAS responsiveness were associated with BMI in a gender-specific manner with negative relationships for men and positive relationships for women. Together, eating behavior and BIS/BAS responsiveness accounted for a substantial proportion of BMI variance (men: ∼25%, women: ∼32%). A direct relationship between self-reported impulsivity and BMI was not observed. In summary, our results demonstrate a system of linear and non-linear relationships between the investigated factors and BMI. Moreover, body weight status was not only associated with eating behavior (cognitive restraint and disinhibition), but also with personality factors not inherently related to an eating context (BIS/BAS). Importantly, these relationships differ between men and women.

Highlights

Body weight regulation and the development of obesity are associated with multiple interdependent factors and mechanisms
ThreeFactor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ)-ONLY COHORT (n = 326) Association of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire scales with body mass index (BMI) In the total cohort of 326 subjects, a gender difference in cognitive restraint (CR) (p = 0.004) and in DIS (p = 0.001) was observed, with women having higher scores in both cases
BMI modeling based on the TFEQ scales cognitive restraint and disinhibition To obtain a model for BMI regressed on the TFEQ scales, a multiple regression analysis using all former significant terms (i.e., CR, DIS, CR2, and CR∗DIS; additional covariates age and gender) was conducted

Summary

Introduction

Body weight regulation and the development of obesity are associated with multiple interdependent factors and mechanisms. These mechanisms include, at the individual level, genetic and endocrine factors as well as behavioral and personality characteristics (e.g., Williamson et al, 1995; Bellisle et al, 2004; Provencher et al, 2004; Dina et al, 2007; Farooqi et al, 2007; Frayling et al, 2007; Klok et al, 2007; Ahima, 2008; Davis and Fox, 2008; Rosenbaum et al, 2008; Page et al, 2011). Disinhibited eaters typically initiate eating because of external environmental cues, such as palatable food. Cognitive restraint and disinhibition are not independently related to BMI, they interactively influence body weight www.frontiersin.org

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