Examining the relation between mind wandering and unhealthy eating behaviours

Abstract

In the present study, we explored how individual differences in the tendency to mind-wander are related to unhealthy eating behaviours (i.e., eating habits and eating-disorder symptoms). Given that eating-disorders are associated with inhibition (extreme control) and impulsivity (a lack of control), we were interested in how unhealthy eating behaviours might relate to both spontaneous mind-wandering, which is often construed as a failure of executive control, and deliberate mind-wandering, which is thought to occur via controlled processes. To ensure that any observed relations were not driven by self-control, we also measured and statistically controlled for this variable. In a large, non-clinical sample (N = 2328), regression analyses predicting each of the eating measures with self-control, spontaneous mind-wandering, and deliberate mind-wandering revealed that self-control and spontaneous mind-wandering were significantly positively predictive of unhealthy eating behaviours, whereas deliberate mind-wandering did not significantly predict these measures. These findings suggest that spontaneous, but not deliberate, mind-wandering has a robust unique relation with unhealthy eating behaviours, even when controlling for self-control.