Investigating the Association between Eating Self-Efficacy and Emotional Eating: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Shame and Guilt in Women with Overweight and Obesity
Abstract
Objective: The study investigated the direct and indirect pathways between eating self-efficacy and emotional eating behavior in women with overweight and obesity, evaluating the parallel mediating roles of shame and guilt related to body and weight.
Materials and Methods: A total of 228 women between the ages of 18 and 70, with overweight and obesity (Body Mass Index≥ 25), were recruited through purposive sampling. Participants completed online questionnaires: Demographic Information Questionnaire (DIQ), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), Weight- and Body-Related Shame and Guilt Scale (WEB-SG), Weight Efficacy Lifestyle-Short Form (WEL- SF). Descriptive statistics and parallel mediation analysis (PROCESS model 4) with bootstrapping were used to test the hypothesized model. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data.
Results: Higher levels of eating self-efficacy were directly associated with the lower levels of emotional eating behavior (P< 0.001), and indirectly related to reduced emotional eating by decreased weight- and body-related shame and guilt (P< 0.05). Shame and guilt served as partial, parallel mediators. The model explained 39% of the variance in emotional eating behavior (R2= 0.39).
Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of addressing cognitive and emotional factors in interventions to improve eating behaviors and manage obesity in women, providing actionable insights for healthcare professionals and researchers.