Abstract

Author(s): López Morales, José Luis; Garcés de los Fayos, Enrique Javier

Introduction: Edorexia syndrome, characterized by the desire to eat with no physiological need, is cause of risk behaviors such as food intake facilitating an energetic imbalance; and thus, the subsequent development of obesity.

Objective: This study aims to establish relation between risk behaviors, Psychological factors and obesity.

Methods: It has been selected a preliminary sample of obese and non-obese participants, a total of 18 subjects have been assessed in accordance with their lifestyle and their psychological and food habits. There are no statistically significant differences between obese and non-obese participants in the traditional components of the explanatory model of obesity, namely, overfeeding and absence of sport activity. Nevertheless, the model turns out to be significant by incorporating environmental stress, with an excellent coefficient of multiple determination.

Results: The results do not devalue sports nor food intake, but broadens the perspective instead, by finding the main cause of this pathological behavior, whose outcome is obesity; Edorexia syndrome explains the need to overeating in the presence of environmental and physical demands.

Discussión: Psychological factors such as dependence, the emotional component, the avoidance of obesity and deficits in our psychological welfare determine the excessive appetite that leads to an increase in food abuse. In this sense, the avoidance of obesity through performing a low-calorie diet or consuming “healthy” food maintain risk behaviors that encourage obesity