The Role of Emotion Regulation on the Developmental Course of Eating Disorders, Obesity and Food Addiction

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Background

Emotional regulation is a complex multidimensional construct implied in the ability to regulate competencies such as impulsivity, frustration tolerance (necessary to avoid and manage negative emotional states such as anger, stress, anxiety, or depression), and planning and coping skills in situations of potential conflict. It has been hypothesized that some eating related conditions (such as obesity, food addiction and eating disorders) could be originated as dysfunctional strategies used by subjects to decrease/suppress negative emotions. It is also believed that emotional dysregulation could be a transdiagnostic risk factor for the onset and progression of different mental disorders, including comorbid conditions that include eating behavior problems.



A number of studies have assessed the role of emotion regulation on the onset of diverse psychiatric disorders. But it is not clearly known the contribution of the different domains of emotion regulation on the developmental course of unhealthy eating profiles, including eating disorders, obesity and food addiction. This special issue is focused in the study of the structure of the different processes underlying emotion regulation and its specific contribution on dysfunctional eating patterns. Advances in the above area should include new studies aimed to:

1. Explore the underlying mechanisms (direct and indirect effects) between the multiple domains of emotion regulation and unhealthy eating profiles.

2. Explore the interrelations between emotion regulation with other psychological and biological markers related with the onset and the developmental course of eating problems.

3. Value the specific predictive capacity of the above elements and mechanisms on the treatment outcomes for eating disorders, obesity and food addiction.

4. Identify the existence of empirical developmental trajectories of patients diagnosed of eating disorders, obesity or food addiction including the improve of emotion regulation capacity during the treatment plans.



The scope of this special issue is to provide new scientific knowledge about the contribution of emotion regulation on the onset and developmental courses of obesity, food addiction and eating disorders. The findings of new studies could contribute to the elaboration of more effective prevention plans, including other variables different to the core eating related symptoms that can contribute to more effective interventions. We welcome original research studies (basic, etiological, clinical and translational research), systematic reviews (including meta-analyses studies), and scope reviews. Potential themes include, but are not limited to the following topics:

- Basic research, epidemiological and clinical studies involving mediating, pathways, and networks analysis to examine the underlying processes of emotion regulation and eating related measures.

- Treatment studies assessing the capacity of the multiple emotion regulation domains on the diverse therapy outcomes.

- Discussion-proposal of novel plans to deal with obesity, food addiction and eating disorders, including emotion regulation processes.

Keywords: Eating Disorder, Food Addiction, Obesity, Emotion Regulation, Developmental Course

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