Longitudinal Associations Between Anhedonia and Body Mass Index Trajectory Groups Among Adolescents

Junhan Cho; Nicholas I Goldenson; Mollie S Pester; Rubin Khoddam; Mariel S Bello; Genevieve F Dunton; Britni R Belcher; Adam M Leventhal

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.12.022

Longitudinal Associations Between Anhedonia and Body Mass Index Trajectory Groups Among Adolescents

J Adolesc Health. 2018 Jul;63(1):81-87. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.12.022. Epub 2018 May 3.

Authors

Junhan Cho¹, Nicholas I Goldenson², Mollie S Pester², Rubin Khoddam³, Mariel S Bello³, Genevieve F Dunton², Britni R Belcher², Adam M Leventhal⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California. Electronic address: junhan.cho@usc.edu.
² Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
⁴ Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California; Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

Abstract

Purpose: Although evidence suggests that anhedonia-a reduced ability to experience pleasure in response to rewarding stimuli-may predict weight gain during adolescence, it remains unclear whether changes in anhedonia during adolescence are associated with changes in body mass index (BMI). This study examines longitudinal associations between changes in anhedonia and developmental trajectories of BMI during adolescence.

Methods: Self-report measures of anhedonia and BMI were collected at five semiannual assessments among students from 10 high schools in Los Angeles, CA, area (N = 3,396) followed up from the 9th grade to the 11th grade. Four BMI trajectories were identified using growth mixture modeling: (1) stable normative weight; (2) overweight to normative weight (i.e., decreasing BMI); (3) overweight to chronically obese (increasing BMI); and (4) normative weight to overweight (increasing BMI). Latent growth curve modeling estimated baseline level and changes in anhedonia. A multinomial logistic regression model tested associations of baseline level and slope of anhedonia with the four BMI trajectory groups.

Results: Compared with the stable normative BMI trajectory group, each 1-unit standard deviation increase in anhedonia slope increased the odds of membership in the overweight to chronically obese group (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval {CI}] = 1.29 [1.09-1.49], p < .001) and in the normative weight to overweight group (OR [95% CI] = 1.28 [1.04-1.53], p = .006), and decreased the odds of membership in the overweight to normative weight group (OR [95% CI] = .78 [.57-.95], p = .01).

Conclusions: Across a 2-year period of high school, the rate of change in anhedonia is associated with certain BMI trajectories linked with poorer metabolic health. Increasing anhedonia may be an important risk factor to consider in adolescent obesity prevention.

Keywords: Adolescents; Anhedonia; Body mass index; Obesity; Trajectory.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anhedonia / physiology*
Body Mass Index*
Body Weight
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Pediatric Obesity / prevention & control*
Self Report

Grants and funding

R01 DA033296/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States