Beyond alcohol and drug addiction. Does the negative trait of low distress tolerance have an association with overeating?

Low distress tolerance is an inability to withstand negative emotions. The connection between low distress tolerance and addiction to cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs has been established. The purpose of the current study was to extend this work to overeating, which is an important symptom of food addiction. We investigated whether low distress tolerance was related to overeating as measured by the emotional and external eating scales of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire and the disinhibition scale of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. Participants were 225 college students with a median age of 19; 32% were overweight or obese. Linear regression models adjusting for sex and BMI demonstrated significant inverse associations among distress tolerance and emotional eating (P = 0.001), external eating (P = 0.002), and disinhibition (P < 0.001). These initial results suggest the importance of additional research in the area of low distress tolerance, overeating, and food addiction.

► The link between low distress tolerance and drug addiction has been established.
► It is unknown if low tolerance is related to overeating, a food addiction factor.
► Low tolerance is linked to disinhibition and emotional and external overeating.
► Improving distress tolerance skills might lead to better weight loss treatment.