Exploring Eating in the Absence of Hunger as a Mediator of the Association Between Exposure to Early Life Adversities and Adolescent Obesity Risk

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Talati, Swara
Area of Honors:
Biobehavioral Health
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Lori Anne Francis, Thesis Supervisor
Kari Christine Kugler, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Obesity
Adolescent Obesity
Eating in absence of hunger
Early life adversity
Preschool years
Obesity risk
Rural households
Households experiencing poverty
EAH in response to negative affect
Adolescence
Waist circumference
Abstract:
Adolescent obesity remains a prevalent and growing public health concern in the U.S., with 18.5% of children and youth classified as obese in 2015-2016. Eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) in response to negative affect may explain the association between exposure to early life adversity (ELA) during the preschool period and the development of obesity in adolescence. We examined the association between exposure to early life adversity—specifically cumulative sociodemographic risk at age 35 months—and adolescent obesity risk. Participants included 218 adolescents, drawn from a sample of rural households that experienced poverty. Data were collected through in-person home visits and web surveys; only individuals who completed in-person home visits were included in the analysis. Adolescents completed questionnaires and had their waist circumference measured during the home visit. Results showed that there was no direct association between exposure to ELA and adolescent waist circumference. Cumulative sociodemographic risk, however, significantly predicted EAH negative affect (p=0.05) and EAH negative affect significantly predicted waist circumference (p=0.003). Given no direct relation between adversity and obesity risk, we conclude that EAH negative affect did not mediate this association. These findings suggest that early life adversity may contribute to emotional eating behaviors in adolescence, which could have long term implications for obesity risk, but further research is needed on the mechanisms linking early life adversity and adolescent obesity.