Owens, MatthewWatkins, EdBot, MariskaBrouwer, Ingeborg ARoca, MiquelKohls, ElisabethPenninx, Brenda WJHvan Grootheest, GerardHegerl, UlrichGili, MargalidaVisser, MarjoleinMooDFOOD Prevention Trial Investigators2024-09-182024-09-182021-07Owens M, Watkins E, Bot M, Brouwer IA, Roca M, Kohls E, et al. Habitual Behavior as a Mediator Between Food-Related Behavioral Activation and Change in Symptoms of Depression in the MooDFOOD Trial. Clin Psychol Sci. 2021 Jul;9(4):649-65.2167-7026https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13003/19614https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/23340In this study, we tested potential mediators that may explain change in depressive symptoms following exposure to a food-related behavioral activation intervention (F-BA). These included behavioral activation, avoidance and rumination, eating styles, body mass index, and dietary behavior at baseline and 3-month and 12-month follow-up. The trial used a community sample of 1,025 overweight adults with elevated depressive symptoms without current major depression. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four trial arms: either daily nutritional supplements (vs. placebo) alone or in combination with F-BA (vs. no F-BA) over 12 months. Although F-BA did not significantly reduce depressive symptoms (standardized regression coefficient [b] = -0.223, SE = 0.129; p = .084), significant mediators included emotional eating (b = -0.028, SE = 0.014; p = .042) and uncontrolled eating (b = -0.039, SE = 0.016; p = .013), suggesting that learning adaptive responses to emotional and food cues may underlie effects of F-BA on depressive symptoms.enghttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/DepressionPreventionBehavioral activationHabitsEating stylesresearch articleAttribution 4.0 International94649-66510.1177/21677026209797852167-7034Clinical Psychological Scienceopen access2-s2.0-85104308685638957300001