Addictive Eating and Its Relation to Physical Activity and Sleep Behavior

Abstract

The obesity epidemic has led to the exploration of factors contributing to its etiology. Addictive eating, physical activity, and sleep behaviors have all been independently associated with obesity, and recent research suggests plausible interrelationships between food addiction, physical activity, and sleep. This study aims to investigate the relationship between food addiction with physical activity and sleep behavior. Australian adults were invited to complete an online survey which collected information including: demographics, food addiction symptoms, physical activity, sitting time and sleep behavior items. The sample comprised 1344 individuals with a mean age of 39.8 ± 13.1 years (range 18–91), of which 75.7% were female. Twenty-two percent of the sample met the criteria for a diagnosis of food addiction as per the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS 2.0) criteria, consisting of 0.7% with a “mild” addiction, 2.6% “moderate”, and 18.9% classified as having a “severe” food addiction. Food-addicted individuals had significantly less physical activity (1.8 less occasions walking/week, 32 min less walking/week, 58 min less moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA)/week; p < 0.05), reported sitting for longer on weekends (83 min more on weekends/week; p < 0.001), and reported significantly more symptoms of poorer-quality sleep (more likely to snore, more likely to have fallen asleep while driving, reported more days of daytime falling asleep; p < 0.05) compared to non-food-addicted individuals. These differences were also observed in those with a “severe” food addiction classification. The present study suggests frequency and duration of physical activity, time spent sitting and sleep duration are associated with food addiction.

Reasons for Doing Physical Exercise Mediating in the Role of Self-Esteem in Uncontrolled Eating in Nursing Personnel

“…On the other, the relevance of healthy living habits, such as physical exercise directed at intrinsic goals and good eating behavior should be underlined, because of their effects on physical and emotional health of workers and the work environment [5,4]. Therefore, organizations, following the recommendations of the HERO model, should design programs designed to promote the health of their employees, focused on making workers aware of the importance of physical exercise and a balanced diet [21,36]. They should also give workshops on psychological strategies for effective emotional regulation [39,37].…”

“…Uncontrolled eating consists of excessive consumption of food in response to external signals from the environment, characterized by subjective increase in appetite and absence of self-control of eating behavior [33,34]. It negatively affects wellbeing and has been related with such health problems as obesity [35,36]. In this line, it has been demonstrated that ineffective emotional regulation strategies have a key role in starting and maintaining such eating behavior [37].…”

Effects of the Quality of Sleep and the Mediating Role of Eating on Self-Esteem in Healthcare Personnel

“…Most nursing professionals showed poor sleep quality (60%), which could be the result of working in rotating shifts and high job stress [24][25]. The results also showed that poor sleep quality negatively influenced self-esteem [BPSQI=-1.36 p<.001], suggesting that inadequate sleep reduces the tendency to think positively and is related to negative emotional states which affect the emotional and psychological wellbeing of nurses [28].…”

“…One question related to health and satisfaction of nursing professionals has to do with inadequate sleep, which could result from different factors, such as working rotating shifts and high levels of stress [24][25]. A sleep deficit, whether in amount or duration, negatively influences an individual's physical and psychological health, socioemotional functioning and psychosocial adjustment [26][27].…”

“…In addition to the above, poor-quality or insufficient sleep as a result of rotating shifts and/or job stress is in itself a stress factor which acts as an indicator of psychological stress, and can even lead to maladjustment in diet and eating behavior [25,33]. In a systematic review, it was observed that negative emotions can cause a feeling of being full, which leads to a decrease in the amount of food eaten.…”