Abstract

Objective: Obesity is a prevalent public health concern, with greater attention needed to understand motivational processes that may guide health behaviors associated with obesity-related behaviors, including maladaptive eating. Distress tolerance is a key vulnerability factor in maladaptive eating, including overeating. However, more research is needed to understand motives for eating as well as the role of distress tolerance within this context. Participants: Participants included 161 adults (61.5% female, M_age = 31.4 years, SD = 10.47) who attended a baseline appointment for a larger randomized-controlled trial for an anxiety sensitivity reduction intervention for weight-related behaviors. Methods: The current study examined the role of distress tolerance in relation to emotional, external, and restrained eating motives for eating using three separate two-step hierarchical regression analyses. Results: Results suggested that lower distress tolerance was associated with greater emotional and external motives for eating. Distress tolerance was not significantly related to restrained eating. Conclusions: The present findings suggest the potential clinical utility of distress tolerance in terms of understanding the motivational basis of eating among individuals with obesity.

Keywords: Obesity, Distress Tolerance, Eating Motives

How to Cite:

Halstead, N. D., Zvolensky, M. J. & Redmond, B. Y., (2025) “Motives for Eating Among Individuals Seeking Treatment for Weight-Related Behaviors: The Role of Distress Tolerance”, Health Behavior Research 8(3). doi: https://doi.org/10.4148/2572-1836.1297