Stress, eating and weight change in first year students: the moderating role of self-compassion.

Objective: The current study sought to examine the drivers of weight change in first-year university students. The study examined the moderating role of self-compassion in the relationship between stress, eating and weight change. Specifically, we expected that students low in self-compassion would respond to stress with unhealthy eating resulting in weight gain. We expected students high in self-compassion to be buffered from the negative effects of stress (moderated mediation model).

Methods: First-year university students in New Zealand (N = 136) completed measures of healthy and unhealthy food intake and BMI at the beginning and end of the academic year. Self-compassion was measured at baseline only, and perceived stress was averaged over four time points across the year.

Results: Students gained a significant 1.45 kg (SD 3.67 kg) of body weight. Self-compassion moderated the relationship between stress and changes in: (a) unhealthy (but not healthy) food intake, and (b) body weight. For those with low self-compassion, perceived stress was significantly related to an increase in BMI and, unexpectedly, to a decrease in unhealthy food intake. Changes in food intake did not explain changes in BMI.

Conclusion: Wellbeing interventions for university students to reduce negative effects of stress should incorporate concurrent training in self-compassion.