Emotion Regulation in Overeating Disorders: A Psychophysiological Study

American Journal of Health Behavior. 2026. Vol. 50. No. 2. Article 2516.

Gerges M., Evgenyeva E., Isakova D., Raeva T., Kosonogov V.

Objectives:  Maladaptive eating behaviors characterize overeating disorders and are often accompanied by emotion dysregulation. Physiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigated psychophysiological responses to food-related, aversive, and neutral stimuli under different emotion regulation strategies.

Methods:  Sixty-four adults (75% female; mean age = 45.6 years) with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² participated (50 with overeating disorder, 14 healthy controls). Participants viewed food, aversive, and neutral pictures under watch, reappraisal, and expressive suppression conditions while heart rate, skin conductance, and facial electromyography were recorded. Subjective valence and craving ratings were collected.

Results:  Overeating participants showed heightened skin conductance response (p = 0.030) and a negativity bias for aversive stimuli (valence × aversive picture interaction, p = 0.001). For food stimuli, they demonstrated smaller heart rate deceleration than controls (p = 0.009). Emotion regulation strategies did not significantly alter physiological responses, indicating a lack of regulatory flexibility in the overeating group.

Conclusions:  Overeating participants display distinct psychophysiological profiles characterized by increased emotional reactivity, blunted cardiac responses to food cues, and heightened negative emotional sensitivity. The absence of modulation by standard strategies suggests regulatory inflexibility.

Keywords: psychophysiology, heart rate, Electromyography (EMG), skin conductance response (SCR), Overeating disorders, Emotion regulation

Publication based on the results of: Регуляция эмоций при расстройствах пищевого поведения: психофизиологические, генетические, гормональные и метаболические особенности (2027)