Maternal perceived stress, household disorder, eating behaviors and adiposity of women and their children

Amelia E Fouts; Yenni E Cedillo; Camille R Schneider-Worthington; Alysha B Everett; Samantha L Martin; Jessica S Bahorski; W Timothy Garvey; Paula C Chandler-Laney

doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2024.101921

Maternal perceived stress, household disorder, eating behaviors and adiposity of women and their children

Eat Behav. 2024 Sep 7:55:101921. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2024.101921. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Amelia E Fouts¹, Yenni E Cedillo², Camille R Schneider-Worthington³, Alysha B Everett², Samantha L Martin⁴, Jessica S Bahorski⁵, W Timothy Garvey², Paula C Chandler-Laney²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. Electronic address: afouts@uab.edu.
² Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
⁵ College of Nursing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

PMID: 39303456
DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2024.101921

Abstract

Background: Stress is associated with physiological and behavioral adaptations that increase the risk for obesity and related diseases in adults and children. Mechanisms linking stress to chronic disease are diverse and not fully elucidated, but research suggests stress may impact eating behaviors and increase food intake and thereby, risk for obesity.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses that women's perceived stress and household disorder are associated with more uncontrolled and emotional eating among women, more food responsiveness and emotional overeating among their children, and greater adiposity in both women and their children.

Methods: Women (n = 86) completed the Perceived Stress Scale, Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale, Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, and Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Total body fat (%) was measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Linear regression models evaluated associations of perceived stress and household disorder with eating behaviors and adiposity of women and their children (4-10 years old).

Results: In a sample of predominantly non-Hispanic Black women (84.9%, n = 73), more perceived stress and household disorder were associated with more uncontrolled and emotional eating (p < 0.05). Women's perceived stress was not associated with their children's eating behaviors; however, household disorder was positively associated with children's food responsiveness and emotional overeating (p < 0.05). Perceived stress and household disorder were not associated with adiposity of women or their children.

Conclusions: These findings suggest household disorder may be a factor for home-based interventions to consider when addressing eating behaviors among families with children.

Keywords: DXA; Emotional eating; Food insecurity; Home environment; Obesity; Stress.