Abstract
Although overeating increases risk for chronic illness and premature mortality, evolutionary life-history theorists posit that such behaviors arise as a potential outcome of using fast life-history strategies to function in environments that are harsh or unpredictable. To test this premise, we examined links between harsh, unpredictable living conditions (HULC), the adoption of fast life-history (LH) strategies, and overeating among early adolescents using a four-wave longitudinal design. Participants were 2547 Chinese adolescents (1202 girls, 1345 boys) who completed baseline questionnaires assessing experiences of HULC, preferences for use of fast LH strategies, and overeating. Measures were re-administered in follow-ups 7, 13, and 20 months later. Analyses indicated HULC predicted increased use of fast LH strategies within each gender. However, fast LH strategy adoption contributed to increases in overeating only among girls. Findings supported specific tenets of life-history theory and underscored gender as an important consideration in understanding links between living conditions, the adoption of fast LH strategies, and risk for overeating. Interventions focused on reducing poverty and increasing stable, nurturing family, and community environments may aid in reducing overeating and obesity for adolescents.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackard DM, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, Perry C (2003) Overeating among adolescents: prevalence and associations with weight-related characteristics and psychological health. Pediatrics 111(1):67–74. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.111.1.67
Anglé S, Engblom J, Eriksson T, Kautiainen S, Saha MT, Lindfors P, Rimpelä A (2009) Three factor eating questionnaire-R18 as a measure of cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in a sample of young Finnish females. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 6(1):41. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-6-41
Bartholdy S, Allen K, Hodsoll J, O’Daly OG, Campbell IC, Banaschewski T, Bokde A, Bromberg U, Büchel C, Quinlan EB, Conrod PJ, Desrivières S, Flor H, Frouin V, Gallinat J, Garavan H, Heinz A, Ittermann B, Martinot JL, Artiges E, Schmidt U (2017) Identifying disordered eating behaviours in adolescents: how do parent and adolescent reports differ by sex and age? Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 26(6):691–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-016-0935-1
Bibbins-domingo K, Coxson PG, Pletcher MJ, Lightwood J, Goldman L (2007) Adolescent overweight and future adult coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med 357(23):2371–2379. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa073166
Burghy CA, Stodola DE, Ruttle PL, Molloy EK, Armstrong JM, Oler JA (2012) Developmental pathways to amygdala-prefrontal function and internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Nat Neurosci 15(12):1736–1741. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3257
Chang L, Lu HJ, Lansford JE, Skinner AT, Bornstein MH, Steinberg L, Deater-Deckard K (2019) Environmental harshness and unpredictability, life history, and social and academic behavior of adolescents in nine countries. Dev Psychol 55(4):890–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000655
Chen BB, Chang L (2016) Procrastination as a fast life history strategy. Evol Psychol 14(1):1–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916630314
Chen H, Jackson T (2008) Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of eating disorder endorsements among adolescents and young adults from China. Eur Eat Disord Rev 16:375–385. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.837
Chen X, Luo Y, Chen H (2020) Body image victimization experiences and disordered eating behaviors among chinese female adolescents: the roles of body dissatisfaction and depression. Sex Roles. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01122-4 (in press)
Cole DA, Maxwell SE (2003) Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. J Abnorm Psychol 112(4):558–577. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.112.4.558
Cox SJ, Mezulis AH, Hyde JS (2010) The influence of child gender role and maternal feedback to child stress on the emergence of the gender difference in depressive rumination in adolescence. Dev Psychol 46(4):842–852. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019813
Del Giudice M, Gangestad SW, Kaplan HS (2015) Life history theory and evolutionary psychology. In: Buss DM (ed) The handbook of evolutionary psychology. vol 1, foundations, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York, pp 88–114. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125563.evpsych102
Doom JR, Vanzomerendohm A, Simpson JA (2016) Early unpredictability predicts increased adolescent externalizing behaviors and substance use: a life history perspective. Dev Psychopathol 28(4):1505–1516. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579415001169
Ellis BJ, Figueredo AJ, Brumbach BH, Schlomer GL (2009) Fundamental dimensions of environmental risk. Hum Nat 20:204–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-009-9063-7
Feigin VL, Roth GA, Naghavi M, Parmar P, Krishnamurthi R, Chugh S et al (2016) Global burden of stroke and risk factors in 188 countries, during 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2013. Lancet Neurol 15(9):913–924. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30073-4
Figueredo AJ, Wolf PSA, Olderbak SG, Gladden PR, Fernandes HBF, Wenner C, Rushton JP (2014) The psychometric assessment of human life history strategy: a meta-analytic construct validation. Evol Behav Sci 8(3):148–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0099837
Fried SK, Kral JG (1987) Sex differences in regional distribution of fat cell size and lipoprotein lipase activity in morbidly obese patients. Int J Obes 11(2):129–140
Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Dempfle A, Konrad K, Klasen F, Ravens-Sieberer U, BELLA study group (2015) Eating disorder symptoms do not just disappear: the implications of adolescent eating-disordered behaviour for body weight and mental health in young adulthood. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 24(6):675–684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-014-0610-3
Hill SE, Prokosch ML, DelPriore DJ, Griskevicius V, Kramer A (2016) Low childhood socioeconomic status promotes eating in the absence of energy need. Psychol Sci 27(3):354–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615621901
Jackson T, Chen H (2010) Sociocultural experiences of bulimic and non-bulimic adolescents in a school-based sample from China. J Abnorm Child Psychol 38:69–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-009-9350-0
Jackson T, Chen H (2011) Risk factors for disordered eating during early and middle adolescence: prospective evidence from Mainland Chinese boys and girls. J Abnorm Psychol 120:454–464. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022122
Jackson T, Chen H (2014) Risk factors for disordered eating during early and middle adolescence: a two year longitudinal study of mainland Chinese boys and girls. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42(5):791–802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9823-z
Jackson T, Chen H (2015) Features of objectified body consciousness and sociocultural perspectives as risk factors for disordered eating among late-adolescent women and men. J Couns Psychol 62(4):741–752. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000096
Jackson T, Cai L, Chen H (2020) Asian versus Western appearance media influences and changes in body image concerns: a 12-month prospective study of young Chinese women. Body Image 33:214–221
Jackson T, Ye X, Hall BJ, Chen H (2021) “Have you taken the A4 challenge?”: correlates and impact of a thin ideal expression from Chinese social media. Front Psychol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669014
Jose PE, Brown I (2008) When does the gender difference in rumination begin? Gender and age differences in the use of rumination by adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 37(2):180–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9166-y
Kaplan HS, Gangestad SW (2005) Life history theory and evolutionary psychology. In: Buss DM (ed) Handbook of evolutionary psychology. Wiley, New York, pp 68–95
Lamerz A, Kuepper-Nybelen J, Bruning N, Wehle C, Trost-Brinkhues G, Brenner H, Herpertz-Dahlmann B (2005) Prevalence of obesity, binge eating, and night eating in a cross-sectional field survey of 6-year-old children and their parents in a German urban population. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46(4):385–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00363.x
Levitan RD, Masellis M, Basile VS, Lam RW, Kaplan AS, Davis C, Macciardi F (2004) The dopamine-4 receptor gene associated with binge eating and weight gain in women with seasonal affective disorder: an evolutionary perspective. Biol Psychiat 56(9):665–669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.08.013
Little TD (2013) Longitudinal structural equation modeling. Guilford Press, Berlin
Lu HJ, Chang L (2019) Aggression and risk-taking as adaptive implementations of fast life history strategy. Dev Sci. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12827
Lu HJ, Wong K, Chang L (2017) The association between life history strategy and mate preference in men. Pers Individ Differ 116:157–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.047
Luo YJ, Niu GF, Chen H (2020) Early life environmental unpredictability and overeating: based on life history theory. Acta Psychol Sin 52(10):1224–1236. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2020.01224
Luo YJ, Jackson T, Niu GF, Chen H (2020) Effects of gender and appearance comparisons on associations between media-based appearance pressure and disordered eating: testing a moderated mediation model. Sex Roles 82(5):293–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-019-01058-4
Maner JK, Dittmann A, Meltzer AL, McNulty JK (2017) Implications of life-history strategies for obesity. Proc Natl Acad Sci 114(32):8517–8522. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620482114
Mittal C, Griskevicius V, Simpson JA, Sung S, Young ES (2015) Cognitive adaptations to stressful environments: when childhood adversity enhances adult executive function. J Pers Soc Psychol 109(4):604–621. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000028
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2021) The income and expenditure report of Chinese residents from January to June. Retrieved from: http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/202107/t20210715_1819442.html
Nguyen-Rodriguez ST, Unger JB, Spruijt-Metz D (2009) Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence. Eat Disord 17:211–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640260902848543
Petrongolo B (2019) The gender gap in employment and wages. Nat Hum Behav 3:316–318. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0558-x
Prentice AM (2001) Overeating: the health risks. Obes Res 9(S11):234S-238S. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2001.124
Proffitt Leyva RP, Hill SE (2018) Unpredictability, body awareness, and eating in the absence of hunger: a cognitive schemas approach. Health Psychol 37(7):691–699. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000634
Reilly JJ, Kelly J (2010) Long-term impact of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence on morbidity and premature mortality in adulthood: systematic review. Int J Obes 35(7):891–898. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.222
Ross LT, Hill EM (2000) The family unpredictability scale: Reliability and validity. J Marriage Fam 62(2):549–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00549.x
Santosa S, Khosla S, McCready LK, Jensen MD (2010) Effects of estrogen and testosterone on resting energy expenditure in older men. Obesity 18(12):2392–2394. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2010.98
Schafer JL, Graham JW (2002) Missing data: our view of the state of the art. Psychol Methods 7(2):147–177. https://doi.org/10.1037//1082-989X.7.2.147
Stroud LR, Salovey P, Epel ES (2002) Sex differences in stress responses: social rejection versus achievement stress. Biol Psychiat 52(4):318–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01333-1
Suor JH, Sturge-Apple ML, Davies PT, Cicchetti D (2017) A life history approach to delineating how harsh environments and hawk temperament traits differentially shape children’s problem-solving skills. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 58(8):902–909. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12718
Szepsenwol O, Simpson JA, Griskevicius V, Raby KL (2015) The effect of unpredictable early childhood environments on parenting in adulthood. J Pers Soc Psychol 109(6):1045–1067. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000032
Volkow N, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Tomasi D, Baler R (2011) Food and drug reward: overlapping circuits in human obesity and addiction. In: Dalley JW, Carter CS (eds) Brain imaging in behavioral neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–24
Ward A, Mann T (2000) Don’t mind if i do: disinhibited eating under cognitive load. J Pers Soc Psychol 78(4):753–763. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.78.4.753
Zhang J, Wang H, Wang Z, Du W, Su C, Zhang J et al (2018) Prevalence and stabilizing trends in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in china, 2011–2015. BMC Public Health 18(1):571. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5483-9
Zhu H, Luo X, Cai T, He J, Lu Y, Wu S (2016) Life event stress and binge eating among adolescents: the roles of early maladaptive schemas and impulsivity. Stress Health 32(4):395–401. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2634
Acknowledgements
The work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31771237 and No. 31871141), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. SWU1709106), and the Fundamental Research Funds of Southwest University (7110200687).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Luo, YJ., Jackson, T., Chang, L. et al. Testing links between unfavorable living conditions, fast life-history strategy adoption, and overeating: a four-wave longitudinal study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 32, 1219–1228 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01910-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01910-7