The Effects And Mechanism Of Physical Exercise On Emotional Eating Of College Students

This study investigated the status of emotional eating of college students, and researched the relationship between physical exercise and emotional eating. We selected two psychological variables as the research objects which affect the emotional eating behavior:(1) physical satisfaction, which means the satisfaction of the body;(2) mood states, the state of very worried or upset of people in a period time under the influence of something or situation. This study discussed the mediating effect of physical satisfaction and mood state between physical exercise and emotional eating of college students.The study included two parts. The first study used Emotional Eating Scale, Movement Rating Scale, Multi-dimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire and Profile of Mood State to describe the condition of college students’ emotional eating, physical exercise, the state of mood and the satisfaction of body. The second study investigate the mediating effect model of physical exercise between emotional eating and physical exercise. The results are as follows:(1) The emotional eating behavior is common among college students. Female students had much more emotional eating behavior than male students. The emotional eating behavior includes four dimensions, depression eating, anxiety eating, hostile eating and active eating. The T-Test showed that female students were more likely to have hostile eating and active eating than male students.(2) College students’ emotional eating behavior were significant different in grade. Freshman and senior had more emotional eating behavior than junior. The Post Hoc Test showed senior had more depressive eating and hostile eating than junior. Freshman had more active eating than junior. There was no significant difference in grade about anxiety eating.(3) Physical exercise had direct effect on college students’ emotional eating, and can effectively reduce the happening of the college students’ emotional eating behavior.(4) Physical satisfaction and mood state had certain intermediary role between physical exercise and emotional eating. Physical exercise (amount, time, intensity, frequency) can improve the individual’s body satisfaction and promote the college students’ emotional eating behavior. College students’ body satisfaction can’t improve their emotional eating but will increase the emotional eating behavior. The amount of physical exercise can stabilize effectively the students’ state of mind and reduce the college students’ emotional eating behavior. Physical exercise, exercise frequency can effectively improve the individual positive mood, but no significant relationship between positive mood and emotional eating; Physical exercise frequency, exercise intensity and time of negative mood has significant negative correlation, exercise time and exercise frequency can reduce the negative mood, thus reducing emotional eating behavior; Negative mood in the physical exercise time and emotional eating has partial intermediary role; Negative mood in the physical exercise also has partial intermediary effect between frequency and emotional eating.