Abstract
BackgroundAbdominal fat deposition is a key component of obesity, which is associated with an increased risk for a number of mental disorders. The current study aims to explore the relationship between body image, anxiety, food-specific inhibitory control, and emotional eating in young women with abdominal obesity.MethodA total of 224 participants were recruited: 168 were non-abdominal obesity and 56 were abdominal obesity. Participants completed the following questionnaires and behavioral tests: the Body Mass Index (BMI) -based Silhouette-Matching Test (SMT), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Food Stop Signal Task (SST), the Emotional Eating Scale (EES).ResultsAbdominal obesity women had significantly higher levels of trait anxiety, cognitive difference, expectational difference in body image but lower self-reported emotional eating level compared to the control group. Anxiety mediated the relationship between cognitive difference of body image and depression eating in young females with abdominal obesity. In addition, only among abdominal obesity individuals, expectational difference of body image were significantly and positively correlated with food-specific inhibitory control and trait/state anxiety.ConclusionThe findings suggest it is of critical importance to promote a healthy body image recognition and expectation and improve mood regulation for young females with abdominal obesity high in trait anxiety.
Highlights
Abdominal fat deposition is a key component of obesity, which is associated with an increased risk for a number of mental disorders
Abdominal obesity women had significantly higher levels of trait anxiety, cognitive difference, expectational difference in body image but lower self-reported emotional eating level compared to the control group
Anxiety mediated the relationship between cognitive difference of body image and depression eating in young females with abdominal obesity
Summary
Abdominal fat deposition is a key component of obesity, which is associated with an increased risk for a number of mental disorders. Abdominal fat deposition is a key component of obesity [1]. Some studies have shown that abdomen circumference (AC) may be a better predictor for the risk of type 2 diabetes, medical care costs, and all-cause mortality than body mass index (BMI) [2,3,4,5]. Abdominal obesity are characterized with excessive body fat in abdomen circumference [6]. He et al Archives of Public Health (2021) 79:11 used for identifying the individuals who are at an increased risk for the above mentioned diseases. The identification of the abdominal obesity by the abdomen circumference measurement is accessible and should become the obligatory part of any physical examination [10]. AC, frequently used as a simple, inexpensive measure of central obesity in population-based studies, has been shown to be associated with depression in some studies [11]
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