Hostility, dieting, and nutrition attitudes in overweight and weight-cycling men and women

Objective: Relationships were examined between hostility, weight status, weight cycling, dieting behaviors, and nutrition attitudes. Method: Data were derived from the RENO Diet-Heart Study (RDHS), a 5-year prospective natural history (descriptive) study of weight fluctuations, behavior patterns, and cardiovascular (CVD) risk factors. Overweight versus normal-weight and weight-cycling versus non-weight-cycling men and women were compared on overt and covert hostility. Results: Overweight subjects scored significantly higher than normal-weight individuals on covert but not overt hostility. Similarly, subjects with a history of weight fluctuation scored significantly higher on covert hostility than subjects without a history of weight cycling. Subjects who reported more hostility scored higher on measures of eating disinhibition, hunger, and dietary helplessness. Discussion: The relationships among hostility, dieting behaviors, and nutrition attitudes could not be explained on the basis of general distress alone. The findings supported the hypothesis that the relationship between hostility and health is mediated by the association between hostility and health-related behaviors.