The Association among Emotions and Food Choices in First-Year College Students Using mobile-Ecological Momentary Assessments
Open Access
- 2 May 2018
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Public Health
- Vol. 18 (1), 1-9
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5447-0
Abstract
Studies have examined the associations between emotions and overeating but have only rarely considered associations between emotions and specific food choices. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to use mobile ecological momentary assessments (mEMAs) to examine associations between emotions and food choices among first-year college students living in residence halls. Using an intensive repeated-measures design, mEMAs were used to assess concurrent emotions and food choices in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of first-year college students (n = 663). Emotions were categorized as negative (sad, stressed, tired), positive (happy, energized, relaxed), and apathetic (bored, meh). Assessments were completed multiple times per day on four quasi-randomly selected days (three random weekdays and one random weekend day) during a 7-day period using random prompt times. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine between- and within-person associations of emotional status with a variety of healthy and unhealthy food choices (sweets, salty snacks/fried foods, fruits/vegetables, pizza/fast food, sandwiches/wraps, meats/proteins, pasta/rice, cereals), adjusting for gender, day of week, and time of day, accounting for within-person dependencies among repeated measurements of eating behavior. At the between-person level, participants who reported positive emotions more frequently compared to others consumed meats/proteins more often (OR = 1.8; 99% CI = 1.2, 2.8). At the within-person level, on occasions when any negative emotion was reported (versus no negative emotion reported) participants were more likely to consume meats/proteins (OR = 1.5, 99% CI = 1.0, 2.1); on occasions when any positive emotion was reported as compared to occasions with no positive emotions, participants were more likely to consume sweets (OR = 1.7, 99% CI = 1.1, 2.6), but less likely to consume pizza/fast food (OR = 0.6, 99% CI = 0.4, 1.0). Negative and positive emotions were significantly associated with food choices. mEMA methodology provides a unique opportunity to examine these associations within and between people, providing insights for individual and population-level interventions. These findings can be used to guide future longitudinal studies and to develop and test interventions that encourage healthy food choices among first-year college students and ultimately reduce the risk of weight gain.Keywords
Funding Information
- NIH Office of the Director (1DP5OD017910)
This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- Affect and eating behavior in obese adults with and without elevated depression symptomsInternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 2013
- A Smartphone Ecological Momentary Assessment/Intervention “App” for Collecting Real-Time Data and Promoting Self-AwarenessPLOS ONE, 2013
- Perceptions of emotional eating behavior. A qualitative study of college studentsAppetite, 2013
- Interventions for Weight Gain Prevention During the Transition to Young Adulthood: A Review of the LiteratureJournal of Adolescent Health, 2012
- Is Field of Study or Location Associated with College Students' Snacking Patterns?Journal of Obesity, 2012
- Situational characteristics of young adults’ eating occasions: a real-time data collection using Personal Digital AssistantsPublic Health Nutrition, 2010
- Change in diet, physical activity, and body weight among young-adults during the transition from high school to collegeNutrition Journal, 2009
- Psychological Determinants of Emotional Eating in AdolescenceEating Disorders, 2009
- Health and the Mobile PhoneAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2008
- Changes in Weight and Health Behaviors from Freshman through Senior Year of CollegeJournal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2008