Boredom proneness and emotion regulation predict emotional eating

Abstract

Emotional eating is considered a risk factor for eating disorders and an important contributor to obesity and its associated health problems. It has been suggested that boredom may be an important contributor to overeating, but has received relatively little attention. A sample of 552 college students was surveyed. Linear regression analyses found that proneness to boredom and difficulties in emotion regulation simultaneously predicted inappropriate eating behavior, including eating in response to boredom, other negative emotions, and external cues. The unique contributions of these variables to emotional eating were discussed. These findings help to further identify which individuals could be at risk for emotional eating and potentially for unhealthy weight gain.