(P31-038-23) The Relationship Between Intuitive Eating Scores, Perceived Stress Levels, Interoception, and Dispositional Mindfulness in Bariatric Surgery Patients

Objectives: While most individuals experience substantial weight loss after bariatric surgery, significant weight regain is seen in 20-50% of bariatric patients. Maladaptive eating patterns associated with emotional overload, decreased body awareness, and lack of adaptive emotion regulation strategies have been proposed as contributors to weight recidivism.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the correlation between intuitive eating (an adaptive eating style) and emotion regulation elements such as perceived stress (a measure of emotional overload), interoception (the ability to distinguish bodily sensations), and dispositional mindfulness (a form of adaptive emotion regulation) in bariatric patients 12-36 months post-surgery.

Methods: Participants were recruited from a bariatric surgery center through flyers posted in the surgeon’s office. Interested subjects were screened via Qualtrics. Participants completed an online cross-sectional survey that included four questionnaires: the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness-2 (MAIA-2), and the Short-Form Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (SF-FFMQ).

The relationship between IES-2 scores and all other measures was estimated using Person’s correlation. Variables with coefficients ≥ 0.4 were considered highly correlated. A p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Out of the 237 subjects screened, 62 (26%) consented and completed all sections of the online survey. Of the 62 respondents (49 ± 11.5 years of age, 33.48 ± 6.98 BMI in kg/m2), 55 (89%) were female.  Participants were primarily Non-Hispanic White (82%). Data analyses revealed a strong negative relation (r = - 0.40, p < 0.001) between IES-2 scores and perceived stress levels as measured by the PSQ. Additionally, there were strong positive correlations between IES-2 scores, interoception (r = 0.58, p < 0.001) and dispositional mindfulness (r = 0.44, p < 0.001), as measured by the MAIA-2 and SF-FFMQ, respectively.

Conclusions: Data collected suggest significant correlations between intuitive eating and emotion regulation elements in bariatric surgery patients. This information may support the development of programs (e.g., mindfulness training) targeted to improve health outcomes in this population.

Funding Sources: N/A