Trait Negative Affect Interacts With Ovarian Hormones to Predict Risk for Emotional Eating

Ovarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females. However, most women do not develop appreciable disordered eating, which suggests that ovarian hormones may not affect all women equally. We examined whether individual differences in trait negative affect (NA) moderate ovarian hormone-dysregulated eating associations in 446 women who provided saliva samples for hormone measurements and ratings of NA and emotional eating daily for 45 consecutive days. Women were at greatest risk for emotional eating when they had high trait NA and experienced a hormonal milieu characterized by low estradiol or high progesterone. Although effects were evident in all women, the combination of high trait NA and high progesterone was particularly risky for women with a history of clinically significant binge-eating episodes. These findings provide initial evidence that affective and hormonal risk interact to promote emotional eating and that effects may be amplified in women with clinically significant binge eating.

Automated summary

Ovarian hormones significantly influence dysregulated eating in females, particularly when combined with high trait negative affect and certain hormonal environments. The risk of emotional eating is highest in women with high trait negative affect and low estradiol or high progesterone, especially those with a history of clinically significant binge-eating episodes. These findings suggest that affective and hormonal risk factors interact to promote emotional eating, with a heightened effect in women with clinically significant binge eating.