The role of genes and education in adult eating behaviour and its relationship with eating architecture

Abstract

Appetitive traits are aspects of appetite associated with Body Mass Index (BMI). It is unclear how they are expressed at the Eating Architecture (EA) level and whether they underlie the influence of genes and socioeconomic position on BMI.
Among 1459 middle-aged UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2000-2001 participants, a 1-unit higher Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) emotional eating was associated with meals containing approximately 15 (3, 26) fewer kcals per occasion, consuming 1.4 (0.5, 2.3) more snacks per week and snacking over a 35- (16, 53) minute longer period a day. A 1-unit higher DEBQ external eating was associated with snacking over a 24- (1, 46) minute shorter period a day. Associations were independent of BMI and other potential confounders.
Using multiple imputation for BMI and covariates, we found that among 2673 ALSPAC participants, Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) emotional overeating, slowness in eating and emotional undereating at age 23 mediated 8.3% (7.3%, 9.4%), 3% (2.4%, 3.7%) and 3% (2.4%, 3.7%) of the total effect of a polygenic score of 934 loci on BMI at age 24. Using 4-way decomposition, we found that among 1336 women, but not in men, AEBQ food fussiness explained 12.9% (4.3%, 21.4%) and 5.3% (0.6%, 10%) of the association between maternal education and BMI at 24 and own education at 15/16 and BMI at 24. The remaining AEBQ traits did not underlie the associations of genotype and education with BMI.
Targeting emotional overeating, undereating and slowness in eating may lower genetic inequalities in BMI, whereas targeting food fussiness may lower educational inequalities in BMI in women. The EA profile of emotional eating suggests that interventions considering snacking may be more effective in the management of emotional eating. Studies with multiple and more accurate appetitive traits measures are needed to strengthen the causal role of appetitive traits in obesity.

Date of Award	28 Sept 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Laura Johnson (Supervisor), Laura D Howe (Supervisor) & Timothy Frayling (Supervisor)