Impulsivity and consideration of future consequences as moderators of the association between emotional eating and body weight status

BACKGROUND: Emotional eating (EmE) is characterized by an over consumption of food in response to negative emotions and is associated with an increased weight status. Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) or a low level of impulsivity could influence the association between EmE and weight status. The objective was to analyze the moderating influence of CFC and impulsivity on the relationship between EmE and BMI. METHODS: A total of 9974 men and 39,797 women from the NutriNet-Santé cohort study completed the revised 21-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire to assess their EmE, the CFC questionnaire (CFC-12) to assess their level of time perspective, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) to assess their impulsivity. Weight and height were self-reported each year over a median follow-up of 5.3 years. The associations between EmE and repeated measures of BMI were estimated by multiple linear mixed-effects regression models stratified by gender, tertiles of the CFC, or tertiles of the BIS-11, taking into account sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: Overall, EmE was positively associated with BMI. CFC and impulsivity did not moderate the effect of EmE on changes of BMI per year, but quantitatively moderated the effect of EmE on overall BMI. In women, the strength of the association between EmE and weight status increased with CFC level. Difference of BMI slopes between a low and a high level of CFC was − 0.43 kg/m(2) (95% CI: -0.55, − 0.30) (p < .0001). In addition, the strength of the association between emotional eating and weight status increased with impulsivity level. Difference of BMI slopes between a low and a high level of impulsivity was + 0.37 kg/m(2) (95% CI: 0.24, 0.51) (p < .0001). In men, only individuals with a low CFC presented a stronger association of EmE with BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Impulsivity and consideration of future consequences moderated the association between emotional eating and body weight status. This study emphasizes the importance of taking into account psychological traits in obesity prevention. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12966-018-0721-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.