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Exploring Emotional Eating Impact on GPA and Retention Rates

Investigate how emotional eating affects academic success, BMI, GPA, and college retention. Study emotional eating patterns in students to understand related factors. Explore associations between emotional eating, stress, BMI, GPA, and emotional well-being. Analyze the impact of emotional eating on academic performance and student retention rates.

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Exploring Emotional Eating Impact on GPA and Retention Rates

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  1. Emotional Eating, BMI, GPA, and Student Retention Joanne Haeffele, PhD, Patricia Braun, DNSc, Sarah Blackstone, BPhil

  2. Introduction • Measures of academic success • GPA • Retention • US Census Bureau estimates • 43% students do not graduate in six years • Nationwide retention rate is 75%

  3. Introduction • Illinois retention rate – 59.4% (after 4 years) • NIU retention – overall 73.2% • NIU graduation rates 48% (6 years)

  4. Introduction • Predictive variables • Socioeconomic Demographic • Gender • Parents’ education p<.05 • High school GPA • Recent research suggesting emotional and social factors play a role Pritchard & Wilson, 2003

  5. Stress

  6. Introduction • Emotional eating • Tendency to eat in response to negative emotions • Higher prevalence of: • Depression • Negative affect • Neuroticism • Depression, negative affect and neuroticism related to lower GPA Van Strien et al. 2007; Jansen et al. 2008; van Strien et al. 2012; Ouwens, van Strien, & van Leeuwe, 2009

  7. Current Aims • Investigate relationship between emotional eating, BMI, GPA and later college retention • Analyze three factors of emotional eating (indicated by EADES questionnaire) • Emotion and stress related eating • Appraisal of ability and resources to cope • Appraisal of outside stressors

  8. Susan A 22-year old obese female student reported to the school counselor that she engaged in episodes of binge eating up to five times per week. She reported a lack of control and that she would consume up to 6,000 calories in one episode Her binge episodes were typically preceded by intense emotions and food intake was her way of coping with the emotions and distress. Midterm and final exam times were especially distressing. Macht & Simons, 2011

  9. Theories Psychosomatic Emotional Eating Theory Adriaanse et al., 2011; Macht & Simons, 2011; Slochower, 1983; Booth, 1994

  10. Emotional Eating • Often symptomatic of entrenched unresolved psychological issues • Habits range from snatching a candy bar to compulsive binging • May not consciously realize quality and quantity of food consumed • Described a lapse of consciousness state (Adam & Epel, 2007)

  11. Emotional Eating • Can be brought on by restrained eating • intentionally control or restrict food intake to maintain or lose weight • Normally high control over food intake • Control pattern interrupted in times of stress • Display patterns of emotional eating when stressed Macht, 2008

  12. Negative Affect • Increased tendency to cope with negative emotions using food • Induced eating • Associated with an elevated BMI • Food intake higher • Greater food consumption (Fay & Finlasion, 2011) Epel, Lapidus, McEwen, & Brownell, 2001; Chua, Touyz, & Hill, 2004

  13. Stress and Eating • Stress and anxiety associated with • High consumption of snack foods • Lower consumption of meal type foods • Emotional eater overeat when stressed food consumption reduces stress Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991; Wallis & Hetherington, 2004, 2008

  14. Links to GPA and Retention • Emotional eating related to • Anxiety • Negative Affect • Depression • Depression and anxiety have been related to lower academic performance Hysenbegasi, Hass, & Rowland, 2005; DeRoman, Leach, & Leverett, 2009; Ahmad & Rana, 2009

  15. Links to GPA and Retention • Hysenbegasi, Hass, & Rowland (2005): Depression associated with .49 decrease in GPA • Ahmad & Rana, 2009: Neuroticism associated with lower GPA • Measured by: • Negative reactivity to daily events • Experience of subjective distress • Inability to cope

  16. Present Study • Purpose: investigate the relationship between academic performance (GPA and retention), BMI and emotional eating • Relevance: Depression and anxiety (two characteristics associated with emotional eating) are linked to poorer academic performance • Depression and anxiety are conditions experienced by current university students

  17. Data Collection • Participants • 155 students from NIU • Ages 18-65 • Recruited via: • E-mail announcement • Flyers • Classroom announcements • Incentives: none initially • Course credit

  18. Data Collection • Eating and Appraisal Due to Emotions and Stress (EADES) Questionnaire • Validated with internal consistency (see, Ozier, Kendrick, Knol, Lepper, Perko, & Burnham, 2008) • Three subscales • Emotion and Stress Related Eating (F1) • Appraisal and Ability of Resources to Cope (F2) • Appraisal of Outside Stressors and Influences (F3) • Demographic questionnaire

  19. Data Procedure • Procedure • Participants given EADES questionnaire in an office in the School of Nursing • Research assistant measured height and weight • Collected transcripts in sealed envelope • Student ID given for retention purposes

  20. Data Collection • Problems • Data from 4 participants were not used • 1 did not finish the questionnaire; 3 did not provide a transcript • Recruitment • Incentives

  21. Year in College

  22. Ethnicity

  23. Weight Category

  24. Data Collection • EADES questionnaire - 49 questions Likert scale • Strongly Disagree   • Disagree   • Neither agree nor disagree • Agree   • Strongly Agree • 24 questions measured F1 • 20 questions measured F2 • 05 questions measured F3 • Total scores range from 44-220

  25. EADES QUESTIONAIRE • ..\Documents\m_perko_eating_2006.pdf

  26. ANALYSIS &RESULTS

  27. Study Hypotheses • H1: GPA will differ based on weight category • H2: GPA will be predicted by level of emotional eating based on each of the three EADES factors • H3, GPA will be predicted by level of emotional eating based on total EADES scores above or below the median

  28. Statistical Analysis • H1: GPA will differ based on weight category • ANOVA was used to test this hypothesis. • Weight Category • Group 1 = normal weight (BMI: 18.5-24.99) • Group 2 = overweight (BMI: 25-29.99) • Group 3 = obese (BMI ≥ 30)

  29. Statistical Analysis • H2: GPA will be predicted by level of emotional eating based on each of the three EADES instrument factors • A multiple regression analysis was used to test this hypothesis, controlling for age, race, year in school, and gender.

  30. Statistical Analysis • H3: GPA will be predicted by level of emotional eating based on total EADES scores above or below the median. • Weight category (BMI), and age were controlled for in the analysis. • Levels of emotional eating • Group 1 = EADES score below median (160) lower score – emotional eating • Group 2 = EADES score above median

  31. Results

  32. Results *EADES score range: 44-220

  33. EADES QUESTIONAIRE • ..\Documents\m_perko_eating_2006.pdf

  34. Results

  35. Results Total score and GPA not significant *Standard deviation in parentheses ()

  36. Results • H1, that GPA would differ based on weight category, was not supported • H2, that level of emotional eating based on scores for each of the EADES factors would predict GPA, was not supported • H3, that GPA would be predicted by level of emotional eating based on total EADES scores above or below the median, was not supported.

  37. Conclusions/What We Learned • GPA did not differ based on overall levels of emotional eating as measured by total EADES scores in this sample of students • Emotion and stress related eating (Factor 1) was a predictor of BMI. That is, lower levels of emotion and stress related eating predicted higher BMIs.

  38. Conclusions • Contradict previous studies • BMI and GPA • Race and GPA • Emotional eating may not be a significant predictor of GPA • Emotion and stress related eating is an important predictor of BMI

  39. Limitations • Biased sample • Using a larger more diverse sample from the university may yield different results

  40. Further Research • Larger samples of more diversified students from other universities to further demonstrate results and understand the prevalence and relationship of emotional eating • Retention data of students in this study has not been completed. We will continue to measure retention each semester for student participants according to grade level

  41. Recommendations • Relationship to BMI may be important for preventing obesity Provide early interventions to prevent onset of emotional eating/ impact on BMI particularly for emotion and stress related eaters

  42. Recommendations • Educate nurse practitioners/Health care professionals to identify underlying symptoms (depression, anxiety) of emotional eating • Provide education to university students to recognize signs and symptoms of emotional eating and their precursors

  43. Discussion • Do you have times when you exhibit emotional eating tendencies? • If yes, describe a scenario that might occur before the eating occurs.

  44. Discussion • What has your experience been with students and emotional eating ? • How much do you think that emotions affect a student’s ability to succeed?

  45. Discussion • Can you share an example where one of your students’ emotions impacted their education?

  46. Discussion • What other factors do you think may be related to emotional eating in students?

  47. Discussion • Are students within your college educated on emotional eating and or eating disorders? • If yes, where in the curriculum?

  48. Brainstorming • What type of intervention would you recommend to a student with emotional eating ? • Do you think POSITIVE emotions lead to emotional eating?

  49. References • Adam T, Epel, E. (2007). Stress, eating and the reward system. Physiology and Behavior, 91, 449-458. • Adriaanse, M. A., de Ridder, D. T. D., & Evers, C. (2011). Emotional eating: Eating when emotional or emotional about eating?. Psychology and Health, 26(1), 23-39. • Ahmad, I., & Rana, S. (2012). Affectivity, achievement motivation, and academic performance in college students. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 27(1), 107-120. • Canetti, L., Bachar, E., & Berry, E. M. (2002). Food and emotion. Behavioural processes, 60(2), 157-164. • Chua, J. L., Touyz, S., & Hill, A. J. (2004). Negative mood-induced overeating in obese binge eaters: an experimental study. International Journal of Obesity,28(4), 606-610. • DeRoma, V. M., Leach, J. B., & Leverette, J. P. (2009). The relationship between depression and • college academic performance. College Student Journal, 43(2), 325-334. • Epel, E., Lapidus, R., McEwen, B., & Brownell, K. (2001). Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 26(1), 37-49. • Fay, H. S., & Finlayson, G. (2011). Negative affect-induced food intake in non-dieting women is reward driven and associated with restrained-disinhibited eating subtype. Appetite, 56, 682-688. • Heatherton, T. F., & Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Binge eating as an escape from self-awareness. Psychology Bulletin, 110(1), 86-108.

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