The Relationship Between Physical Exercise And Emotional Eating In College Students And Its Intervention Research

Emotional eating which is a manifestation of eating disorders has become a common phenomenon,especially among the adolescents.It has a negative impact both on individuals' physical and mental health.To date,foreign scholars hold different views on the relationship between sport and eating disorders.The results of few domestic studies suggest that sport has a direct positive effect on emotional eating.Besides,it also has an indirect positive effect on emotional eating through other mediating variables.Therefore,this study aimed to explore the relationship between sport and emotional eating as well as the possible indirect variables,and tried to lessen the emotional eating behavior of college students through sport intervention.In study 1(N=548),the relationship between sport and emotional eating was investigated by a questionnaire survey.We assumed that sport is negatively related to emotional eating,which is moderated by self-control ability and state of mind.The results showed that:(1)sport(time,intensity,frequency,total amount)had a significant negative correlation with emotional eating;(2)the emotional eating scores of college students differed significantly by sport level.To be specific,the emotional eating scores of low and high sport groups were significantly higher than those of medium sport group;(3)sport and self-control had a significant negative predictive effect on emotional eating,while the state of mind had a significant positive predictive effect on it;(4)individual's self-control had a partial moderating effect on emotional eating impacted by sport,which was not found in state of mind;while state of mind has a partially moderating effect on the process of active eating influenced by sport.The results revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between sport and emotional eating within a certain threshold,and self-control and state of mind played a part in the regulation of this process.In study 2(N=72),an experimental study was conducted to examine whether sport could reduce college students' emotional eating behavior after an 8-week sport intervention.The results showed that:the experimental group members' scores of emotional eating scale and each dimension who received sport intervention showed a significant decrease,while the control group did not.The results revealed that sport intervention can significantly improve the emotional eating behavior of college students.Through the two studies,the negative correlation between sport and emotional eating was verified within a certain threshold,and the positive effect of sport intervention on emotional eating was confirmed.The research results help to enrich and develop the theory of physical sport on individual behavior intervention.Based on the perspective of physical education,the development of sport intervention program suitable for the improvement of emotional eating behavior is helpful to guide teenagers to carry out appropriate and regular sport,correct bad behaviors and better promote their own physical and mental health development.