Reward mediates the association between engagement in noneating activities and state body dissatisfaction: An ecological momentary assessment study.

Objective: Momentary worsening (i.e., greater than one's average levels) of state body dissatisfaction (BD) has been implicated as a proximal risk factor for eating disorder (ED) behaviors in binge-spectrum EDs. Yet, research exploring the prospective association between noneating activities in daily life (e.g., chores, self-care/coping) and momentary state BD remains limited. Understanding the momentary link between engagement in noneating activities and state BD, and pathways through which engagement in said activities influences momentary state BD is critical to informing treatments. The current ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study examined whether (1) engagement in noneating activities at Time 1 prospectively predicted momentary state BD at Time 2 and (2) reward drawn from noneating activities at Time 1 mediates the prospective association between engagement in noneating activities at Time 1 and momentary state BD at Time 2.

Method: Sixty-six adults with transdiagnostic binge eating completed an EMA protocol over 7-14 days. Participants received six EMA signals per day (total EMA observations = 4038). Multilevel modeling was used to examine the research questions.

Results: Engagement in an indoor hobby, outdoor recreation, socializing, and self-care/coping strategies prospectively predicted momentary state BD improvements, while using TV/social media and cooking prospectively predicted momentary state BD worsening. Reward drawn from engagement in these noneating activities mediated the associations.

Discussion: If replicated, these findings suggest that increasing the frequency of certain noneating activities and enhancing their rewarding aspects to improve state BD and decrease ED behavior risk during treatment may be worthy of further exploration.

Public Significance: Momentary worsening of state body dissatisfaction (BD) is a risk factor for eating disorder behaviors in individuals with binge eating. This study found that engaging in certain noneating activities (e.g., socializing) prospectively predicted momentary improvements in state BD, while other noneating activities (e.g., cooking) predicted momentary worsening of state BD. Reward drawn from activities mediated these relations. To improve state BD, treatments should target the frequency of, and reward obtained from these noneating activities.