Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec;55(12):1744-1752.
doi: 10.1002/eat.23820. Epub 2022 Oct 7.

Eating to cope: Advancing our understanding of the effects of exposure to racial discrimination on maladaptive eating behaviors

Kristal Lyn Brown  1   2 , Andrea K Graham  3 , Robert A Perera  4 , Jessica Gokee LaRose  1
Affiliations

Eating to cope: Advancing our understanding of the effects of exposure to racial discrimination on maladaptive eating behaviors

Kristal Lyn Brown et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: Racial discrimination is a stressor for young Black women that leads to poor health outcomes, including maladaptive eating. This study presents findings on racial discrimination and maladaptive eating behaviors (overeating, LOC eating) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

Methods: Black emerging adult women (N = 27) with overweight or obesity participated in a 14-day EMA study examining exposure to racial discrimination, eating behaviors, and racial identity. Frequencies and chi-square tests were used to characterize the type of racial discrimination experienced and frequency of overeating. Mixed effect ordinal logistic regression models were used to assess the relation between racial discrimination and maladaptive eating. Moderation analysis was conducted by creating interaction terms for discrimination and racial identity variables.

Results: 81.5% of participants reported experiencing racial discrimination. Young Black women reporting exposure to racial discrimination were more likely to endorse higher levels of both overeating and LOC eating compared to times when discrimination was not experienced (p < .0001). Racial identity moderated the link between racial discrimination and maladaptive eating (overeating, LOC) such that reporting greater levels of private regard buffered the deleterious effect of racial discrimination. Higher levels of public regard exacerbated the association between racial discrimination and both overeating, and LOC. Higher centrality worsened the relation between racial discrimination and LOC.

Conclusion: Young Black women might use maladaptive eating to cope with exposure to racial discrimination, which underscores the importance of examining the link between racism and disordered eating, particularly among Black women submerged in a society that continuously exposes them to racial discrimination.

Public significance: Emerging adult Black women are exposed to racial discrimination daily. In theory, exposure to racial discrimination could contribute to overeating and loss of control eating in this population. Using ecological momentary assessment, to capture experiences and eating behaviors in the moment they occur, this project quantified the magnitude of racial discrimination and how it was associated with maladaptive eating behaviors. Further, it examined ways in which racial identity was linked to this association.

Keywords: Black women; binge eating; eating disorders; ecological momentary assessment; emerging adults; loss of control eating; obesity; race/ethnicity; racial discrimination; racism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Conceptual model detailing the relationship between racial discrimination, racial identity, and loss of control eating (LOC) eating among young Black women in the United States. Conceptual model is informed by minority stress and objectification theories, the biopsychosocial model of racism and our previous work (Brown et al., 2021); the emotion regulation model, affect regulation model of binge eating and cognitive behavioral theory. Dotted arrows represent potential moderators of the relationships
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Odds ratios for the effect of discrimination on overeating at ±1SD of private, public, and central identity
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Odds ratios for the effect of discrimination on loss of control eating at ±1SD of private, public, and central identity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Beal (1970). Double jeopardy: To be Black and female. In The Black woman: An anthology (pp. 90–100). Signet.
    1. Bejarano, C. M. , Cushing, C. C. , & Crick, C. J. (2019). Does context predict psychological states and activity? An ecological momentary assessment pilot study of adolescents. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 41, 146–152. 10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.05.008 - DOI
    1. Brown, D. L. , Blackmon, S. K. , Rosnick, C. B. , Griffin‐Fennell, F. D. , & White‐Johnson, R. L. (2017). Initial development of a gendered‐racial socialization scale for African American college women. Sex Roles, 77(3), 178–193. 10.1007/s11199-016-0707-x - DOI
    1. Brown, K. L. , Hines, A. L. , Hagiwara, N. , Utsey, S. , Perera, R. A. , & LaRose, J. G. (2021). The weight of racial discrimination: Examining the association between racial discrimination and change in adiposity among emerging adult women enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 9(3), 909–920. 10.1007/s40615-021-01030-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burke, N., Schaefer, L., Hazzard, V., & Rodgers, R. (2020). Where identities converge: The importance of intersectionality in eating disorders research. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53, 1605‐1609. 10.1002/eat.23371 - DOI - PMC - PubMed