Depression and emotional eating in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jessica Muha, Anett Schumacher, Susan C Campisi, Daphne J Korczak

Journal: Appetite 2024;200():107511

PMID: 38788931

Free Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Plain Language Summary

Emotional eating, the inclination to eat in response to emotions, has been identified as an eating behaviour that contributes to the development of obesity in children. Ample evidence suggests that higher levels of emotional eating are associated with increased body mass index (BMI) in youth. This study aimed to synthesise the depression symptom-emotional eating association in children and adolescents. This research was a systematic review and meta-analysis of thirty-seven studies with a total of 26,026 participants. Results showed moderate positive associations between depressive symptoms and emotional eating. Children and adolescents with higher depressive symptoms were more likely to exhibit increased levels of emotional eating in both community settings and obesity clinics. Stronger longitudinal associations were observed when children were informants of their own symptoms. Authors concluded that their findings provide support for a framework that includes emotional eating as a potential contributing factor to depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk through obesity. It suggests eating behaviours as a potential new pathway for preventive interventions to mitigate the risk of negative physical health outcomes from depression.

Abstract

Major Depressive Disorder in youth is associated with obesity and adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Eating in response to emotions (emotional eating) is a potential contributing factor to this association. Although emotional eating is associated with Major Depressive Disorder in adults, findings in children and adolescents are mixed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the association between depression and emotional eating in children and adolescents. Systematic searches were conducted in seven databases. Studies were included if the study population had a mean age of ≤18 years and assessed both depression and emotional eating using validated measures. The search generated 12,241 unique studies, of which 37 met inclusion criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses of study outcomes were performed. Thirty-seven studies (26,026 participants; mean age = 12.4 years, SD = 3.1) were included. The mean effect size was significant for both cross-sectional and longitudinal data (Hedges' g = 0.48, p < 0.0001; g = 0.37, p = 0.002, respectively), revealing a positive moderately strong association between depressive symptoms and emotional eating in youth. Among longitudinal studies, the association was stronger when depressive symptoms and emotional eating were assessed using child and adolescent self-report versus parent-report. No studies examined youth with a clinical diagnosis of depression. Meta-analyses revealed that depressive symptoms and emotional eating are positively associated in children and adolescents. However, further research in clinical samples is needed. Results raise the possibility for the importance of emotional eating in the link between depression and early CVD risk, though further examination is required to determine whether emotional eating is a potential treatment target to decrease CVD risk among adolescents with increased depression symptoms.

Address: Neurosciences and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.; Neurosciences and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.; Neurosciences and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Nutrition and Dietetics Program, Clinical Public Health Division, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada.; Neurosciences and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107511