Associations of Youth and Adulthood Body-Mass Index and Waist-Hip Ratio with Attachment Styles and Dimensions

Abstract

The current cross-sectional study examined whether body-mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio are associated with adult attachment. Participants were 1,570 men and women participating in Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study. BMI was measured in youth and in adulthood and waist-hip ratio in adulthood. A single measure of attachment style was conducted when participants were aged 24-39 years. In age and sex adjusted models, youth BMI (Beta=.066, p=.008), adulthood BMI (Beta=.069, p=.007) and waist-hip ratio (Beta=.082, p=.016) were associated with fearful attachment. The associations remained significant when education and relationship status were adjusted for. Age adjusted association between adulthood waist-hip ratio and preoccupied attachment was found in men (Beta=.132, p=.002). The association was not essentially changed by additionally adjusting for education and relationship status, and including fearful attachment in the model. Furthermore, associations for attachment dimensions were also found. These results suggest that in addition to previously reported negative effects of higher BMI on physical health, higher BMI might have negative associations with psychological functioning as well. Furthermore, our results imply that physical appearance might be associated with attachment style in adulthood.

Change in attachment states of mind of women with binge‐eating disorder

“…Moreover, overweight women with and without BED did not significantly differ in terms of rates of secure versus insecure attachment states of mind. These results, taken as a whole, provide additional support for an association between insecure attachment and higher weight (Cooper & Warren, 2011;Hintsanen et al, 2010;Wilkinson et al, 2010). The findings suggest that overweight women without BED may use similar ways of regulating their affect and experience similar types of interpersonal problems as women with BED.…”

The Association between Attachment Avoidance and Quality of Life in Bariatric Surgery Candidates

“…Attachment theory, founded by John Bowlby [11], provides a framework for understanding one's experience of chronic illnesses, and attachment style has been associated with obesity (11,12). Bowlby [11] purported that individuals' ability to reach out for social support during an illness event is based on relationship patterns that develop during one's childhood and remain relatively stable throughout adulthood.…”

“…In addition, research has shown a relationship between insecure attachment and obesity, with higher BMI being associated with anxious attachment [12]. Given the stability of attachment style in comparison to other psychosocial variables, insecure attachment style may provide valuable insights into the development of obesity and response to weight loss interventions, such as bariatric surgery, and HRQOL.…”

Relação entre Apego e Obesidade: Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

“…De modo geral, observou-se um aumento da produção científica sobre a relação entre apego e obesidade a partir do ano de 2010, uma vez que somente nos últimos cinco anos foram publicados 14 artigos sobre a temática, representado 87,5% do total. No que tange às características dos participantes, verificou-se que metade dos estudos (n=8) investigou a relação entre apego e obesidade em adolescentes ou adultos (Alexander & Siegel, 2013;Cooper & Warren, 2011;D'Argenio et al, 2009;Holland, Dallos, & Olver, 2011;Hernandez-Hons & Woolley, 2012;Hintsanen, Jokela, Pulkki-Raback,Viikari, & Keltikangas-Järvinen, 2010;Sockalingam et. al., 2011;Wilkinson, Rowe, Bishop, & Brunstrom, 2010), sendo seis pesquisas (37,5%) realizadas com crianças (Anderson & Whitaker, 2011;Anderson, Gooze, Lemeshow, & Whitaker, 2012;Bahrami, Kelishadi, Jafari, Kaveh, & Isanejad, 2013;Goossens, Braet, Bosmans, & Decaluwé, 2011;Goossens, Braet, Durme, Decaluwé & Bosmans, 2012;Guzmán, 2012).…”