Ecological momentary assessment of state affect prior to and following loss of control eating in young men

Objective: Loss of control (LOC) eating is prevalent but understudied among young men. Affect regulation models propose that LOC eating functions as a maladaptive effort to escape from distressing affective states. As such, negative affect is thought to increase before and decrease after LOC eating. However, examinations with young men are lacking and it remains unclear whether specific emotional experiences are differentially implicated in their LOC eating. Methods: The current study examined the temporal roles of affect in LOC eating in 31 young men (18-35 years; Mage = 25.74 +/- 5.61y; 46.7 % White; 30 % Black/African American; 10 % Hispanic/Latino, 10 % South Asian) who reported engaging in recurrent LOC eating. Participants completed a 14-day ecological momentary assessment protocol and recorded all eating episodes each day and their state affect five times per day. Generalized linear mixed models were conducted to examine the trajectories of global and item-level negative and positive affect pre- and post-LOC eating episodes. Results: Negative affect did not change significantly before or after LOC eating (ps >.05). Positive affect did not change significantly before LOC eating (ps >.05). Global positive affect, excitement, and happiness decreased significantly after LOC eating (ps <=.001). Discussion: Study findings contradict extant theory and empirical data largely from female samples. Negative affect did not increase risk for LOC eating, nor did LOC eating function to improve participants' mood; rather, positive mood slightly decreased after LOC eating. Further investigation around the observed decline in positive affect after LOC eating will clarify if this is a relevant intervention point in this population.