Predicting jet lag in long-haul cabin crew: The role of illness cognitions and behaviour

Objective: Established risk factors for jet lag are mostly physiological including circadian preference, age, gender, the number of flight zones crossed and to some extent direction of travel. Some research has also highlighted a role for psychosocial factors including sleep, diet and ‘circadian’ health behaviours and illness cognitions although this remains relatively untested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of sleep, diet and illness cognitions in predicting perceived jet lag amongst long-haul crew.

Design: Sixty long-haul crew took part in a longitudinal study. Profile characteristics (including chronotype), preparation strategies (sleep, eating and ‘circadian’ behaviours) and illness cognitions were measured at baseline (before a trip).

Main outcome measures: Subjective jet lag (unidimensional and multidimensional) was measured on the crews’ second day off (post-trip).

Results: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that unidimensional jet lag was predicted by the belief in a cyclical timeline, whereas multidimensional jet lag was predicted by multidimensional jet lag at baseline and to a lesser extent by identity. No role was found for profile characteristics and preparation strategies.

Conclusion: Illness cognitions partly explain the experience of perceived jet lag in long-haul cabin crew indicating that jet lag is in part a psycho-social construct, not just a biological one.     

Differential effects of approach bias and eating style on unhealthy food consumption in overweight and normal weight women

Objective: The current study aimed to examine the effects of approach bias for unhealthy food and trait eating style on consumption of unhealthy food in overweight and normal weight individuals.

Method: Participants were 245 undergraduate women aged 17 – 26 years. They completed an Approach–Avoidance Task, the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (to assess restrained, emotional, and external eating), and a taste test to measure consumption of unhealthy food.

Results: An external eating style predicted increased consumption of unhealthy food. Among overweight participants, external and emotional eating style individually moderated the relationship between approach bias for unhealthy food and subsequent consumption. Specifically, approach bias was positively related to consumption in high external and emotional eaters, but negatively related to consumption in low emotional eaters. These interactions were not observed among normal weight participants.

Conclusion: Practically, the results suggest that overweight individuals who are external or emotional eaters may benefit from interventions that aim to modify approach bias towards unhealthy food cues to reduce problematic eating behaviour.     

Media influence on drive for thinness,body satisfaction,and eating attitudes among young women in Hong Kong and China

The present study examined the impact of thin-ideal media exposure on Chinese women’s drive for thinness, attitudes towards body shape, and eating attitude. Women were assigned to one of two video conditions, which portrayed the thin-ideal (experimental) or was neutral (control group), in terms of content. A total of 83 young women from Hong Kong (N = 38) and Shanghai (N = 45), aged between 18 and 25 years (M_age = 22.7) participated in the study. A significant interaction was observed between the experimental video condition and location. Hong Kong women in the experimental group experienced greater levels of body dissatisfaction than Shanghai women exposed to the same condition. Exposure to thin-ideal media produced an increase in drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction and problematic eating attitudes regardless of location, with a greater immediate impact shown in Hong Kong women.     

An Open Trial Targeting Food Cue Reactivity and Satiety Sensitivity in Overweight and Obese Binge Eaters

Data suggests that individuals who binge eat are more responsive to food cues in the environment and less sensitive to satiety cues. The aim of this open trial was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness of a novel treatment grounded in Schachter’s externality theory targeting food cue reactivity and satiety responsiveness with obese adults who binge eat. Treatment was provided in groups, and utilized appetite monitoring, cue-exposure treatment, in vivo exercises, self-monitoring, and coping skills. Twenty-eight overweight and obese adults who binge eat (82% female; mean age = 47.5 years [SD = 12.8]; BMI = 38.9 [SD = 10.3]; 79% White non-Hispanic) participated in a 4-month group-based treatment program. Assessments were conducted at baseline, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up time points. Results indicated that this treatment was well accepted and had high retention at posttreatment. Initial effectiveness showed significant decreases in BMI, and improvements in loss of control and overeating episodes, food responsiveness, and power of food. The majority of results were maintained at the 3-month follow-up time point. This open trial provides preliminary evidence for the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effectiveness of this treatment on both eating disorder symptoms and weight in obese adults who binge eat. Because these data are preliminary, further treatment development and randomized controlled studies are needed.     

Body perception and meal type across age and gender on a Mediterranean island (Sardinia)

Our aim was to describe the differences in consumption of types of meal (complete/incomplete) eaten at lunch and dinner by gender in people of different age groups (children, young adults and seniors). In particular, we wanted to investigate the differences in choice of meal based on perceived weight. The study involved 516 participants, of which 156 were children (8-12y), 187 were young adults (19-30y) and 173 were elderly (65-90y). A cross-sectional analysis was carried out into the choice of meal type based on the different age groups and genders, on the three Body Mass Index categories (under, normal, overweight), on the three levels of self-perception (slim, normal and heavy) and on the degrees of perception of one’s body weight (underestimation, accurate estimation, overestimation). The food eaten was grouped into three types of daily meal: (a) incomplete, (b) complete lunch or dinner, (c) always complete. Differences emerged in the type of meal eaten according to age, gender and perceived weight. The results show gender differences in associations with meal type according to the way in which body mass is measured or perceived. The choice of complete/incomplete meal type changes according to whether real weight or perceived weight is considered.     

前额叶的无创神经干预对饮食控制的影响:基于rTMS和tDCS研究的综述

饮食控制缺陷可导致超重、肥胖和饮食失调。已有研究表明,肥胖和饮食失调者在前额叶认知控制神经环路上存在缺陷。无创神经干预-经颅直流电刺激(t DCS)和重复经颅磁刺激(r TMS)-通过调节前额叶皮层兴奋性来提高饮食控制能力,改善饮食失调症状。未来的研究应考虑不同刺激参数和刺激位点下的干预效应,融合其他神经生理技术考察无创神经干预改善饮食控制的作用机制,考虑个体差异性并结合客观的行为范式进行探究。     

Night-time eating in men and women with binge eating disorder

This study examined the frequency of night-time eating (NE) and its correlates in men and women with binge eating disorder (BED). Two-hundred and seven consecutively evaluated adults (45 men and 162 women) with BED were assessed with semi-structured interviews and a battery of behavioral and psychological measures. Overall, 28% (N = 58) of the participants reported NE. A significantly higher proportion of men (42%) than women (24%) reported NE. Overall, participants who reported NE had a significantly higher body mass index, but otherwise differed little from those who did not report NE. Men and women without NE differed little on behavioral and psychological measures, whereas women with NE had significantly higher levels of eating-, weight-, and shape-concerns than men with NE.     

Factorial structure and diagnostic efficiency of DSM-IV criteria for avoidant personality disorder in patients with binge eating disorder

This study examined the factorial structure and diagnostic efficiency of the DSM-IV criteria for avoidant personality disorder (AVPD). Two hundred and twenty-eight consecutive outpatients (181 females and 47 males) with a primary diagnosis of binge eating disorder were reliably assessed with diagnostic interviews. Internal consistency of AVPD criteria was good, as suggested by coefficient alpha of 0.87, the pattern of inter-item correlations (range 0.41 to 0.64), and the lack of changes in alpha if any criteria are deleted. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-factor solution (56% of variance) supporting the unidimensionality of the AVPD criteria. Diagnostic efficiency indices (conditional probabilities, total predictive power, and kappa coefficients) were calculated for each AVPD criterion, for the entire study group and separately by gender. Overall, the best inclusion criterion was 'fears being ridiculed,' which was also the best predictor overall. These psychometric findings did not differ by gender. The findings support certain important aspects of the AVPD diagnosis.     

Patterns of Aberrant Eating Among Pre-adolescent Children in Foster Care

The paper reports epidemiological and phenomenological investigations of aberrant eating among 347 pre-adolescent children in court-ordered foster and kinship care, in New South Wales, Australia. A quarter of children displayed clinically significant aberrant eating problems, with no evidence of gender or age effects. Two distinct patterns were identified. The first is a pattern of excessive eating and food acquisition and maintenance behaviors without concurrent obesity (termed Food maintenance syndrome), resembling the behavioral correlates of Hyperphagic Short Stature (Psychosocial Dwarfism). Various data suggest this pattern is primarily triggered by acute stress, including maltreatment in care, against a background of complex psychopathology and developmental disabilities. The second is a cluster of pica-type eating behaviors that correlates with self-injurious behavior, and is closely associated with developmental disabilities. The paper includes recommendations for clinicians working with pre-adolescent children in care.     

Mindfulness and Acceptance in the Treatment of Disordered Eating

Mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches to the treatment of clinical problems are accruing substantial empirical support. This article examines the application of these approaches to disordered eating. Theoretical bases for the importance of mindfulness and acceptance in the treatment of eating problems are reviewed, and interventions for eating problems that incorporate mindfulness and acceptance skills are briefly described. Empirical data are presented from a pilot study of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy adapted for treatment of binge eating.