EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL BRAIN TRAINING, STRESS, DEPRESSION, FOOD ADDICTION, AND WEIGHT

• Main Author: Adams, Bailey Regina
• Format: Others
• Published: UKnowledge 2014
• Subjects: Emotional Brain Training; Adult Obesity; Psychological Effects; Food Addiction; Weight Maintenance; Comparative Nutrition; Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition; Nutrition
• Online Access: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/foodsci_etds/24; http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=foodsci_etds

Obesity is a complex issue; stress, depression, and food addiction, are several psychological conditions that can accompany an obesity diagnosis. Emotional Brain Training (EBT) was evaluated as a new approach to these conditions. Stress, depression, food addiction, and weight were assessed at baseline, after a seven week active intervention, and after a seven week no contact period. The final sample consisted of 26 obese adults. At seven week assessments, EBT participants experienced significant weight loss (p-value = 0.05) and decreased perceived stress (p-value = 0.035). Food addiction also decreased from 50% to 8.3% (or one participant). At fourteen week assessments, EBT participants maintained significant weight loss (p-value = 0.05) and increased perceived stress from the seven week evaluation (p-value = 0.012). The percentage classified as food addicted remained constant at fourteen weeks. This study suggests EBT is an appropriate intervention for weight loss and weight maintenance. In addition, EBT targets a variety of the complex issues surrounding obesity.