Daily patterns of loneliness and binge eating and food addiction using ecological momentary assessment.

OBJECTIVE

Binge-spectrum eating disorders (BSEDs) are characterized by recurrent binge-eating episodes and have grown vastly in prevalence. Many individuals with BSEDs also report elevated food addiction (FA), which is described as a strong, irresistible urge to consume highly palatable processed food. Many studies have found individuals with BSEDs and/or FA often use food to soothe negative emotions-including loneliness, yet loneliness as a specific emotion associated with disordered eating is understudied. This study investigated trajectories of loneliness across the day and how loneliness trajectories were associated with daily binge-eating and FA symptoms using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

METHODS

Adults with BSEDs and/or FA (N = 49; M=34.9 ± 12.1; 77.1% cisgender female) completed an 11-day EMA protocol, which assessed loneliness, binge eating, and FA. Multilevel latent growth mixture models were used to empirically derive daily loneliness trajectories and evaluate associations with binge eating and FA.

RESULTS

Six daily trajectories of loneliness were found, which differed in intercept and slope of loneliness across the day. Compared to "stable low loneliness" days, "elevated early loneliness, decreasing then increasing" and "elevated early loneliness, decreasing" days showed higher daily FA symptoms. There were no significant differences between trajectories on daily binge-eating symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The results support daily loneliness, particularly days with elevated early loneliness, as a salient factor associated with elevated daily FA symptoms. Thus, interventions targeting morning loneliness should be considered for FA intervention. There were several study limitations, such as inability to make causal conclusions, moderate between-subjects sample size, and lack of clinical interview assessment.