AN ANALYSIS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF (OVER)CONSUMPTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS
(R2023-117173)

AUTHORS

Rumaila Abbas, University of Wollongong in Dubai; Courtney Hatch, Butler University; Jennifer Rice, Indiana University

ABSTRACT

The obesity epidemic is a serious health challenge that individuals face and affects about 40% of the US population (Hales et al. 2017). One common intervention to address weight loss is a food diary. We asked participants to complete a food diary for 2 weeks and complete a series of psychology based (health consciousness, lay rationalism, and preference for numerical information) and goal-related (process vs. outcome focus and self-efficacy) questions. We combine this data into a panel data set and analyze it. Results have implications for individual and public policy interventions designed to address the obesity epidemic.