The relationship between types of eating behavior and psychological characteristics of individuals with psychogenic overeating of varying degrees of obesity

Context and relevance. According to international studies, the dynamics of obesity prevalence among adults over the past 30 years shows a steady increase and currently affects more than 1 billion people. The consequences of obesity can include not only a wide range of diseases but also social stigmatization. Obesity is part of the symptom complex of the diagnosis of «psychogenic overeating»; understanding the relationship between the food patterns of psychogenic overeating and the psychological characteristics of overweight individuals, taking into account the degree of their obesity, is of interest for clarifying the psychological characteristics of this group. Objective. To study the statistical relationships between the severity of eating behavior indicators and the psychological characteristics of women with psychogenic overeating with varying degrees of obesity. Hypothesis. It was assumed that the structure of statistical relationships between the severity of eating behavior indicators and psychological characteristics differs in women with psychogenic overeating with different degrees of obesity. Materials and methods. The study sample consisted of 96 women aged 18 to 65 years with overweight and a confirmed diagnosis of psychogenic overeating. Depending on body mass index (BMI), participants were divided into three groups: group 1 — 32 women with overweight and class I obesity (BMI 25–34.9 kg/m²), group 2 — 19 women with class II obesity (BMI 35–39.9 kg/m²), group 3 — 45 women with class III obesity (BMI ≥40 kg/m²). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) was used to assess eating behavior characteristics; the KON-2006 Neurotic Personality Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Methodology of Self-Attitude Research, and self-assessment of mental states were used to assess psychological characteristics. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (ρ) was used to analyze statistical relationships. The study was exploratory in nature; statistical significance was assessed at p < 0.05. Results. In the group of women with grade I obesity, statistically significant associations were found predominantly for the severity of emotional eating, specifically with resentment, difficulty in decision-making, a tendency to daydream, and self-attachment. A statistically significant association was also found between the severity of external eating and a tendency to daydream. In the group of women with grade II obesity, associations were found between the severity of emotional eating and exaltation, dependence on others, low motivation, internal conflict, low self-esteem, and lack of influence. In the group of women with grade III obesity, statistically significant associations were identified for the severity of all three eating behavior indicators. The severity of restrained eating was associated with resentment, guilt, and introversion; the severity of emotional eating was associated with self-oriented perfectionism; and the severity of external eating was associated with guilt, difficulty in decision-making, exaltation, self-attachment, dependence on others, and low self-esteem. Conclusions. The structure of statistical associations between the severity of eating behavior indicators and psychological characteristics differed among women with psychogenic overeating at different degrees of obesity. The findings may be used to develop and improve the effectiveness of psychological weight-management programs for psychogenic overeating that take into account the associations between eating behavior and psychological characteristics in individuals with different degrees of obesity.

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