Síndrome de edorexiaun posible problema mental de la autorregulación del apetito en obesidad

Zusammenfassung

Background: In this article, we approach the problem of obesity from a biopsychosocial perspective. Obesity is defined as a consequence of self-regulation of appetite and such that its’ behaviors have a psychological purpose related to the relief of emotions and aversive situations. Based on self-regulation of appetite, we describe Edorexia Syndrome and we analyze its relationship with obesity, personality and coping. Methods: The sample was constituted by 111 university students (29 edorexic and 82 non-edorexic) who didn’t practice intense physical activity in gyms and didn’t present a severe mental disorder. A battery of psychological tests was applied to the whole sample. This battery consisted of Edorexia Syndrome Questionnaire (CSE), Big Five Personality Questionnaire (BFQ) and the Coping Response Inventory (CRI-A). Results: The results showed that the Edorexia Syndrome is related to the abuse and avoidance of food. It also showed that Edorexia predicts obesity better than other behaviors. Conclusions: Recent studies related obesity with a problem of self-regulation of appetite and from this perspective, Edorexia Syndrome seems to be a good predictor of obesity. According to these articles, the inhibition and disinhibition of food consumption may be the strategy used by the organism to resolve an aversive situation. For this reason, obesity can be comprehended as a consequence of the set of symptoms and behaviors called Edorexia Syndrome and the result of a situation in which the individual does not have other behaviors, skills and resources to confront it in a healthier way.