Permanent change of station moves and disordered-eating attitudes and behaviors in prevention-seeking adolescent military-dependents

M K Higgins Neyland; Lisa M Shank; Jason M Lavender; Alexander Rice; Rachel Schindler; Kathrin Hennigan; Senait Solomon; Phillip Kroke; Natasha A Schvey; Tracy Sbrocco; Denise E Wilfley; Sarah Jorgensen; Jack A Yanovski; Cara H Olsen; Mark Haigney; David A Klein; Jeffrey Quinlan; Marian Tanofsky-Kraff

doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2020.101470

Permanent change of station moves and disordered-eating attitudes and behaviors in prevention-seeking adolescent military-dependents

Eat Behav. 2021 Jan:40:101470. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2020.101470. Epub 2020 Dec 26.

Authors

M K Higgins Neyland¹, Lisa M Shank², Jason M Lavender¹, Alexander Rice³, Rachel Schindler³, Kathrin Hennigan³, Senait Solomon⁴, Phillip Kroke⁵, Natasha A Schvey⁶, Tracy Sbrocco⁵, Denise E Wilfley⁷, Sarah Jorgensen⁸, Jack A Yanovski⁹, Cara H Olsen¹⁰, Mark Haigney¹¹, David A Klein¹², Jeffrey Quinlan¹³, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR), USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Metis Foundation, 300 Convent St #1330, San Antonio, TX 78205, USA.
² Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR), USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Metis Foundation, 300 Convent St #1330, San Antonio, TX 78205, USA; Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
³ Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR), USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Metis Foundation, 300 Convent St #1330, San Antonio, TX 78205, USA.
⁴ Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR), USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), 6720A Rockledge Drive #100, Bethesda, MD 20817, USA.
⁵ Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
⁶ Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
⁷ Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
⁸ Department of Family Medicine, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, 9300 DeWitt Loop Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, USA.
⁹ Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
¹⁰ Preventative Medicine and Biometrics Department, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR), USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
¹² Department of Family Medicine, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, 9300 DeWitt Loop Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, USA; Department of Family Medicine, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
¹³ Department of Family Medicine, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR), USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; Section on Growth and Obesity, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, DHHS, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, USU, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. Electronic address: marian.tanofsky-kraff@usuhs.edu.

Abstract

Objective: Military-dependent youth appear to be at greater risk for disordered-eating than their civilian counterparts. Permanent change of station moves (PCS-moves), typically occurring every 2-3 years, are commonly experienced by adolescent military-dependents. However, the links between PCS-moves and disordered-eating in this population have not been explored. We hypothesized that stress arising from PCS-moves may contribute to the development and/or exacerbation of disordered-eating.

Methods: One-hundred-forty-nine adolescent military-dependents with overweight or obesity (59.7% female; 46.3% non-Hispanic White; 14.4±1.5 years; BMI-z: 1.9±0.4) completed measures before commencing an adulthood obesity and binge-eating disorder prevention trial for adolescents at-risk for both conditions due to BMI percentile ≥85th and loss-of-control (LOC)-eating and/or elevated anxiety symptoms. Disordered-eating attitudes and LOC-eating were assessed by semi-structured interview, and emotional eating was self-reported. Adjusting for relevant covariates, multiple linear regressions examined the unique association of PCS-move frequency with disordered-eating attitudes and disinhibited-eating behaviors.

Results: PCS-move frequency was not significantly associated with either LOC-eating frequency (β = 0.09, p = .27) or emotional eating (β = -0.04, p = .62). However, PCS-move frequency was positively associated with disordered-eating attitudes (β = 0.17, p = .04), which appeared to be primarily driven by shape concerns (β = 0.21, p = .01).

Discussion: Findings indicate that frequency of PCS-moves is related to disordered-eating attitudes, but not behaviors. Longitudinal research is needed to understand if PCS-moves prospectively relate to the onset and/or exacerbation of disordered-eating, and the relevance of disordered-eating attitudes as opposed to disinhibited-eating behaviors.

Keywords: Adolescents; Disordered-eating; Emotional eating; Loss-of-control eating; Military-dependents; Moves; Permanent change of station; Relocations.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Attitude
Binge-Eating Disorder*
Feeding Behavior
Feeding and Eating Disorders* / prevention & control
Female
Humans
Male
Military Personnel*
Obesity

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding