Department of Psychology, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
Appetite. 2019 Feb 1;133:270-278. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.11.014. Epub 2018 Nov 19.
Difficulty identifying and describing emotions (alexithymia) has been related to impulsiveness and negative affect, emotional eating and obesity. However, previous research findings concerning the relationship between alexithymia and obesity have been mixed and inconsistent, raising the possibility that the relationship is indirect and mediated by multiple unknown factors. The aim of the study was to comprehensively explore the potential pathways between alexithymia and obesity via a novel theoretical model, and for the first time, incorporate negative affect, impulsiveness (negative urgency) and emotional eating as potential mediating factors. Two questionnaire-based studies were conducted; the first as an exploratory analysis within a student sample (N = 125), and the second as a self-replication within a more representative general population sample (N = 342). Study One revealed that difficulty identifying feelings predicted Body Mass Index (BMI) both directly (B = 0.1694, CI = 0.0194-0.3194) and indirectly via negative urgency and emotional eating (B = 0.0074, CI = 0.0001-0.0315). In contrast, Study Two revealed that alexithymia predicted BMI indirectly via negative affect (when depression was included in the model; B = 0.0335, CI = 0.0019-0.0660) or negative urgency (when anxiety was included in the model; B = 0.0021, CI = 0.0001-0.0066). Our findings provide partial support for the hypothesised model and offer original insight into the relationship between alexithymia and obesity. Additionally, our findings highlight important methodological considerations for future research and suggest that ways to address an individual's ability to identify, describe and regulate emotions should be considered when designing interventions to assist weight loss and management.
难以识别和描述情绪（述情障碍）与冲动和负面情绪、情绪化进食和肥胖有关。然而，先前关于述情障碍与肥胖之间关系的研究结果存在差异且不一致，这使得述情障碍与肥胖之间的关系可能是间接的，并受到多个未知因素的影响。本研究的目的是通过一个新的理论模型全面探索述情障碍与肥胖之间的潜在途径，并首次将负面情绪、冲动（负性冲动）和情绪化进食作为潜在的中介因素纳入其中。进行了两项基于问卷的研究；第一项是在学生样本中进行的探索性分析（N=125），第二项是在更具代表性的一般人群样本中进行的自我复制（N=342）。研究一表明，难以识别情绪既可以直接（B=0.1694，CI=0.0194-0.3194），也可以通过负性冲动和情绪化进食间接预测体重指数（BMI）（B=0.0074，CI=0.0001-0.0315）。相比之下，研究二表明，述情障碍通过负性情绪间接预测 BMI（当将抑郁纳入模型时；B=0.0335，CI=0.0019-0.0660）或负性冲动（当将焦虑纳入模型时；B=0.0021，CI=0.0001-0.0066）。我们的研究结果部分支持了假设模型，并为述情障碍与肥胖之间的关系提供了新的见解。此外，我们的研究结果强调了未来研究的重要方法学考虑因素，并表明在设计干预措施以帮助减肥和管理体重时，应考虑解决个体识别、描述和调节情绪的能力。
