A Seven-day remote intervention to manage food cravings and emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Tracey Devonport (Author)
Josephine Chen-Wilson (Author)
Wendy Nicholls (Author)
Jonathan Cagas (Author)
Javier Fernandez-Montalvo (Author)
Youngjun Choi (Author)
Claudio Robazza (Author)
Montse Ruiz (Author)

Psychology & Sociology

Activity: Academic Talks or Presentations › Conference Presentation

Period	1 Sept 2022
Held at	The 27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science , Spain
Degree of Recognition	International

Keywords

Emotional eating
food craving
COVID-19

Documents & Links

Due to the physical and aesthetic demands of sport, elite athletes must pay meticulous attention to functional eating, with emphasis on adequate and nutritionally appropriate food. However, it is increasingly recognised that food may also be consumed in response to emotions, known as emotional eating. In the context of elite sport, emotional eating may compromise functional eating goals, as the use of food to regulate emotions is associated with a failure to maintain weight management goals. On March 11th 2020, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Exposure to stress during the pandemic, and the subsequent potential for unpleasant emotions had the potential to influence poor eating habits during the pandemic. Notably, increased calorie consumption derived largely through consumption of foods high in fats and sugars, thus leading to weight gain. Targeting eating behaviour through provision of remote interventions is, therefore, a critical strategy to ameliorate the impact of COVID-19 and is the focus of this research. This study examined the effectiveness of two brief remote interventions targeting the general population that aimed to help individuals deal with food cravings and associated emotional experiences. Participants (n = 165) completed a seven-day intervention that involved two groups, a daily food craving diary or a daily food craving diary and mindful eating practice. Repeated measures MANOVA indicated significant differences in the experience of emotions by Measurement (T1 through T7). Follow-up analysis indicated significantly lower experience of unpleasant emotions across time. Group (food craving diary vs. food craving diary and mindful eating practice) effect was not significant. Repeated measures MANOVA also revealed significant decrease in experience of food cravings by Measurement but not by Group. Participants reported significantly less eating and enhanced wellbeing at T7 vs. T1. Qualitative feedback from participants indicated that they perceived completion of the food craving diary to be an easy task, and mindful eating practice to be a strategy that some intended to continue using. Our findings offer support for a growing body of research which indicates that many individuals experienced an increase in unpleasant emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Significantly less eating and better wellbeing were reported after both intervention conditions. The completion of a 7-day food diary was effective in reducing food cravings (i.e., frequency of craving experienced, giving into craving, and difficulty resisting), as well as the intensities of unpleasant emotions experienced at the time of the highest food cravings. Following mindful eating guidelines alongside a food diary for the same time period was no more effective than completion of the diary alone. The results from this study support the use of remote interventions to encourage healthy eating behaviours. Implications for elite athlete populations are discussed.

A Seven-day remote intervention to manage food cravings and emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Keywords

Documents & Links

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Research Outputs

Brief Remote Intervention to Manage Food Cravings and Emotions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study

Brief Emotional Eating Scale: A Multinational Study of Factor Structure, Validity, and Invariance

A Seven-Day Remote Intervention to Manage Food Cravings and Emotions during the COVID-19 Pandemic