No correlation among expressed emotion, anxiety, stress and weight loss in patients with overweight and obesity

Background: The onset of some types of obesity may correlate with specific familial relational patterns, and expressed emotion (EE), the family life’s ‘emotional temperature’, may play a role in obesity treatment compliance and outcome. Objective: The aim of this study is to address the current gap in the literature about EE and obesity, assessing EE in a sample of patients with overweight or obesity and their relatives. A further objective is to assess patients’ weight loss, patients’ and relatives’ anxiety, perceived stress and their possible correlation with EE and diet compliance. Design: A total of 220 patients with overweight or obesity and 126 relatives were recruited; their socio-demographic and clinical features were collected; and Level of Expressed Emotion Scale (LEE), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory 1 and 2 (STAI-Y1 and STAI-Y2) and Paykel Scale of Stressful Life Events were administered. Results: Patients’ baseline body mass index (BMI) was negatively correlated with educational level, but we failed to find any correlation between BMI and the other variables assessed. We found a positive correlation between EE median and stressful life events, as well as between median EE and state and trait anxiety. Conclusions: Our results seem to suggest that other factors than the psychological ones we investigated may play a role in treatment adherence and outcome in patients with overweight and obesity.