Maternal Psychological Distress and Disordered Eating Among US Mothers

Background: Women's nutrition and dietary practices are vital, daily personal behaviors with important implications for their own health and the health and development of their children. We sought to examine the eating behaviors and weight-loss strategies of mothers in the United States, and how these behaviors vary by measures of mothers' psychological distress. Methods: We used data from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Maternal psychological distress was measured using the Kessler 6. Mothers reported on whether they were trying to lose weight and the behaviors used to control or lose weight. Unhealthy weight loss strategies were defined as skipping meals; taking diet pills, laxatives, water pills, or diuretics; vomiting; or fasting for 24 hours or longer.

Results: Mothers with psychological distress were more likely to be currently trying to lose weight (47% versus 40%) than mothers without distress. In multivariate analyses, maternal psychological distress was associated with more than a two-fold increased odds of engaging in unhealthy weight loss strategies (OR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.8-3.1).

Conclusion: Given the incidence of maternal depression and its effects on family functioning, future research on the mechanisms through which psychological distress affects the dietary behaviors of mothers can illuminate areas for clinical and public health interventions to promote healthy eating for the entire family.