Impulsivity as a risk factor for weight gain and body roundness change among college freshmen

The college setting is considered an obesogenic environment due to high availability of palatable foods. However, only a minority of freshmen gain weight. Individual-level risk factors, such as impulsivity, may hold utility in predicting weight and adiposity changes. Individuals with an impulsive decision-making style may favor immediately rewarding foods at the expense of long-term health. Individuals who seek rewarding foods during strong emotions may also be at risk. The study tested decisional (delay-discounting; DD) and emotion-driven impulsivity (urgency) as risk factors for 1) weight and 2) body roundness change during freshman year.

Freshmen (N = 103) completed questionnaires assessing DD, positive urgency (PU), and negative urgency (NU). Weight and body roundness index (BRI) were collected at the beginning and end of the academic year. Four repeated measures regression models examined impulsivity factors predicting change in 1) weight and 2) BRI. Models included baseline weight and height or BRI, respectively. Covariates included average daily caloric intake, energy expenditure from walking, and sex.

In models examining weight, neither DD nor NU were significantly associated with weight at follow-up (b = 0.008, p = .977; b = 0.280, p = .075) when holding covariates constant. In contrast, PU was significantly associated with weight at follow-up (b = 0.303, p = .033). In models examining BRI, DD (b = -0.039, p = .511) and PU (b = 0.049, p = .072) were not associated with BRI at follow-up. In contrast, NU was significantly associated with BRI at follow-up (b = 0.068, p = .017).

Emotion-driven impulsivity may be a risk factor for weight gain or change in body roundness during freshman year.