Adaptive eating behaviors support improved diet quality
Abstract
Purpose: Weight neutral interventions that promote adaptive eating behaviors are a growing area of practice and may promote diet quality. As body image is closely related to eating behaviors, body image may be an important factor in this relationship. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the relationships between positive and negative body image, adaptive and maladaptive eating behaviors, and diet quality.
Methods: We recruited 288 adults 18 years and older who were living in the US using Prolific Academic. Participants completed an online survey including positive and negative body image, adaptive and maladaptive eating behaviors, and a diet screener questionnaire. We ran a series of hierarchical linear regressions to assess relationships between body image and eating behavior with diet quality. Next, we tested whether eating behavior mediated the relationship between body image and diet quality.
Results: Body image and maladaptive eating behaviors were not associated with diet quality. Body-food choice congruence, an adaptive eating behavior, was associated with overall diet quality. Body-food choice congruence mediated the relationship between positive and negative body image and diet quality.
Conclusions: Our findings provide additional support for adaptive eating behaviors and weight-neutral interventions. As positive body image may influence diet quality through adaptive eating behaviors, additional research may benefit from exploring indirect effects of body image on diet quality. Future research may benefit from the qualitative exploration of eating behavior and diet quality and the comparison of weight-neutral interventions with traditional behavior change interventions.
About the Presenter
Alexandra Jackson
Alexandra Jackson is a doctoral candidate in Prevention Science and a member of the Developmental Approaches to Support Health Lab led by Dr. Jane Lanigan. Alexandra’s past experiences as a Registered Dietitian have led to her current research interests in prevention which include growing our knowledge of how body image, boredom, and social relationships relate to eating behavior and intake. She is currently involved in a longitudinal research project exploring the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors in adults. Her career goal is to support the development of positive relationships with food the body.