Stress and Emotional Eating in Low-Income Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women

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2020-05

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The Ohio State University

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Abstract

Low-income overweight and obese women face significantly higher risk for excess weight gain during pregnancy, which is strongly associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes. One potential factor contributing to excessive gestational weight gain is high levels of stress, which is prevalent in the target population. Prior studies have shown that stress is associated with emotional eating. However, the association between stress and emotional eating remains unknown in low-income overweight and obese pregnant women. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the associations between stress, emotional eating, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), and gestational age in low-income overweight and obese pregnant women. Participants were recruited from a university affiliated prenatal care clinic that serves predominantly 80% low-income women and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants, and Children clinics in Ohio. Participants (N = 337) completed a pencil-and-paper survey that measured stress using the 10-item Stress Overload Scale (SOS-S) and emotional eating behaviors using a subscale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire. Pearson correlation was performed to examine the study objective. The mean age of the study sample was 27.5 + 5.70 years, with a mean gestational age of 24.4 + 9.8 weeks. The study sample was predominantly Non-Hispanic Black (59.6%), and the majority had a high school education or less (54.9%). Results showed significant associations between stress and emotional eating (r = .306, p < .01) and between pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational age (r = -.147, p < .01). However, there were no significant associations between pre-pregnancy BMI and emotional eating or between pre-pregnancy BMI and stress. These findings suggest that there is a strong association between stress and emotional eating in low-income overweight and obese pregnant women, regardless of gestational age or pre-pregnancy BMI.

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Stress, Emotional Eating, Low-Income, Overweight, Obese, Pregnant

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