Examining associations among food insecurity, muscularity-oriented disordered eating, and internalizing symptoms in undergraduate students

IF 2.8 3区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

Eating behaviors Pub Date : 2025-12-01 Epub Date: 2025-10-09 DOI:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.102041

Aditya Thakur , Lisa Y. Zhu , Lindsay P. Bodell

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Food insecurity (FI) is a serious public health concern linked to negative physical and mental outcomes, including eating disorder symptoms. However, little is known about its relationship with muscularity-oriented disordered eating (MODE), which involves eating behaviours aimed at increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat. This study examined the association between FI and MODE, as well as the potential indirect effects of depression and anxiety. A sample of 394 undergraduate students (72.34 % women) from a Canadian university completed online self-report measures of FI, MODE, depression, and anxiety. Linear regression analyses indicated that FI was significantly positively associated with MODE, even when controlling for gender. Indirect effects analyses further revealed that this association was partially explained by depression and anxiety in women, suggesting that psychological distress may play a key role in linking FI to MODE. Importantly, our findings provide evidence that MODE is not limited to individuals with greater financial resources to access high-protein diets and supplements. Food insecurity does not preclude engagement in MODE, emphasizing the need for theoretical models and interventions that consider FI as a potential risk factor. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to clarify the temporal relationship between FI, MODE, and mental health factors, as well as explore these associations in more diverse populations.

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研究大学生食物不安全、肌肉导向饮食失调和内化症状之间的关系。

粮食不安全是一个严重的公共卫生问题，与负面的身心后果（包括饮食失调症状）有关。然而，它与以肌肉为导向的饮食失调（MODE）的关系知之甚少，MODE涉及旨在增加肌肉质量和减少体脂的饮食行为。本研究探讨了FI和MODE之间的关系，以及抑郁和焦虑的潜在间接影响。来自加拿大一所大学的394名本科生（72.34%为女性）完成了FI、MODE、抑郁和焦虑的在线自我报告测量。线性回归分析表明，即使在控制性别的情况下，FI也与MODE显著正相关。间接效应分析进一步揭示，女性的抑郁和焦虑可以部分解释这种关联，这表明心理困扰可能在FI与MODE之间起关键作用。重要的是，我们的研究结果提供的证据表明，MODE并不局限于有更多经济资源获得高蛋白饮食和补充剂的个人。粮食不安全并不排除参与模式，强调需要将FI视为潜在风险因素的理论模型和干预措施。未来的研究应该采用纵向设计来阐明FI、MODE和心理健康因素之间的时间关系，并在更多样化的人群中探索这些关联。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Eating behaviors Multiple-

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Eating Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing human research on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of obesity, binge eating, and eating disorders in adults and children. Studies related to the promotion of healthy eating patterns to treat or prevent medical conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer) are also acceptable. Two types of manuscripts are encouraged: (1) Descriptive studies establishing functional relationships between eating behaviors and social, cognitive, environmental, attitudinal, emotional or biochemical factors; (2) Clinical outcome research evaluating the efficacy of prevention or treatment protocols.