Abstract
BackgroundAlthough previous research found a positive association between sensitivity to reward (SR) and adolescents’ unhealthy snacking and drinking behavior, mechanisms explaining these associations remain to be explored. The present study will therefore examine whether the associations between SR and unhealthy snack and/or sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake are mediated by external and/or emotional eating and if this mediation is moderated by availability at home or at school.MethodsCross-sectional data on snacking, availability of snacks at home and at school, SR (BAS drive scale) and external and emotional eating (Dutch eating behavior questionnaire) of Flemish adolescents (n = 1104, mean age = 14.7 ± 0.8 years; 51 % boys; 18.0 % overweight) in 20 schools spread across Flanders were collected. Moderated mediation analyses were conducted using generalized structural equation modeling in three steps: (1) direct association between SR and unhealthy snack or SSB intake, (2) mediation of either external or emotional eating and (3) interaction of home or school availability and emotional or external eating.ResultsPartial mediation of external eating (a*b = 0.69, p < 0.05) and of emotional eating (a*b = 0.92, p < 0.01) in the relation between SR and intake of unhealthy snacks was found (step 2). The relation between SR and SSB intake was not mediated by external or emotional eating (step 2). No moderation effects of home or school availability were found (step 3).ConclusionOur findings indicate that the association between SR and the consumption of unhealthy snacks is partially explained by external and emotional eating in a population-based sample of adolescents irrespective of the home or school availability of these foods.
Highlights
Previous research found a positive association between sensitivity to reward (SR) and adolescents’ unhealthy snacking and drinking behavior, mechanisms explaining these associations remain to be explored
Direct association SR was significantly positively associated to both the intake of unhealthy snacks (b = 7.09, SE = 1.44, p < 0.001) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) (b = 8.56, SE = 2.64, p < 0.001). 13 % of the total variance in the intake of unhealthy snacks and 9 % of the total variance in the intake of SSBs was explained by SR and the covariates, this is an additional 4 % or 1 % respectively compared to the model with only the covariates
Our findings showed that hedonic eating processes may partially explain how a heightened SR leads to unhealthy eating habits and to overweight and obesity
Summary
Previous research found a positive association between sensitivity to reward (SR) and adolescents’ unhealthy snacking and drinking behavior, mechanisms explaining these associations remain to be explored. Adolescents often adopt unhealthy eating habits such as a low consumption of dairy products, fruit, vegetables and grains and a high intake of energy-dense snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) [1, 2]. In Flanders, 27.0 % of adolescents consume sweet snacks every day [10] and respectively 43.8 % and 32.8 % of adolescent boys and girls consume SSBs on a daily basis [11]. Palatable foods, such as energy-dense snacks and SSBs, are found to be rewarding compared to other foods such as fruit [12]. An obesogenic environment, characterized by the omnipresence of palatable foods, is likely to stimulate reward-driven eating at the expense of homeostatic processes [13, 14]
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