Ford Tasha, Lee HeeSoon, Jeon MinJeong
a College of Health and Human Services , Bowling Green State University-Firelands , Huron , Ohio , USA.
b Social Work Program, Department of Human Services , Bowling Green State University , Huron , Ohio , USA.
Soc Work Health Care. 2017 Jul;56(6):488-504. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2017.1301620. Epub 2017 Apr 11.
Overweight and obesity pose serious public health problems, affecting 68.8% of Americans. Previous research indicated that psychological factors played important roles in an individual's motivation to consume food. In particular, emotional eating, defined as overeating in response to negative affect, has received particular attention as a risk factor for obesity. This study explored and addressed the emotional factors involved in the development of emotional eating. A total of 10 Midwestern American male and female adults, previously diagnosed as medically overweight and obese, were recruited via online and print advertisement using maximum variation and snowball sampling methods. Using a semi-structured, face-to-face interview format, participants shared their perspectives about the development and persistence of emotional eating. The interviews were transcribed and Atlas.ti software was used to assist in thematic analysis of emotional eating. Study results yielded themes, such as emotional triggers, food cravings, comfort from foods, mindless eating, and childhood experiences. Findings indicated that participants generally lacked emotional self-care, but desired to decrease their emotional eating behaviors. Implications are discussed to construct creative, evidence-based treatments for the overweight and obese emotional eaters.
超重和肥胖构成了严重的公共卫生问题，影响着68.8%的美国人。先前的研究表明，心理因素在个体的进食动机中起着重要作用。特别是，情绪性进食被定义为因负面情绪而过度进食，作为肥胖的一个风险因素受到了特别关注。本研究探讨并解决了情绪性进食发展过程中涉及的情绪因素。通过在线和印刷广告，采用最大变异抽样和滚雪球抽样方法，共招募了10名美国中西部成年男女，他们之前被诊断为医学上的超重和肥胖。采用半结构化面对面访谈形式，参与者分享了他们对情绪性进食的发展和持续存在的看法。访谈内容被转录，并使用Atlas.ti软件协助对情绪性进食进行主题分析。研究结果产生了诸如情绪触发因素、食物渴望、食物带来的安慰、无意识进食和童年经历等主题。研究结果表明，参与者普遍缺乏情绪自我护理，但希望减少他们的情绪性进食行为。文中讨论了为超重和肥胖的情绪性进食者构建基于证据的创造性治疗方法的意义。
