Abstract

Background Disordered eating behaviors, emotional eating (EE), uncontrolled eating (UE), and cognitive restraint (CR) contribute to weight dysregulation and remain public health concerns in Japan. Body image distortion (BID), or the misperception of one’s body size, has been linked to both being underweight and overweight. While health literacy (HL) and BID are individually associated with eating behaviors, the influence of higher-order HL domains—communicative and critical literacy—and their interactions with BID remain unclear. This study examined how HL and BID jointly influence multidimensional eating behaviors.

Methods In this cross-sectional study of Japanese adults, HL was measured using the 14-item Health Literacy Scale. BID was defined as the discrepancy between the perceived (via the Figure Rating Scale) and actual body size (via BMI)and categorized as underestimation, no distortion, or overestimation. Eating behaviors (UE, EE, and CR) were assessed using the Japanese version of the 18-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18V2. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between HL and BID, and general linear models were used to test whether BID moderated the effects of higher-order HL domains on eating behavior.

Results Among the participants, 13.0% were underweight, 60.2% had a normal weight, 18.7% were overweight, and 8.0% were obese. BID was categorized as overestimation (36.7%), non-distortion (53.6%), or underestimation (9.7%). HL scores were not significantly associated with overestimation or underestimation; however, a higher BMI was inversely related to overestimation. Higher functional HL was associated with lower EE, UE, and CR across all BID subgroups. However, associations for communicative HL varied by BID (interaction P = 0.001 for EE, 0.057 for CR); it was positively associated with EE and CR in the underestimated group, but inversely associated with EE in the overestimated group. Critical HL was positively associated with CR in the overestimation group (interaction, P = 0.018).

Conclusion Fostering functional HL may support healthier eating behaviors, regardless of BID. Communicative HL may be beneficial for individuals with overestimation-type BID, but potentially counterproductive for those with underestimation. Critical HL appears to encourage more restrictive eating, specifically among individuals with overestimated HL.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (Grant Number: JP22H03317). The funder (JSPS) had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the report, and there were no restrictions on publication.

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This cross-sectional online survey was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Fukushima Medical University (ippan2022-210). Only the participants who provided informed consent completed the questionnaire.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analyzed in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

List of AbbreviationsaORAdjusted odds ratioBIBody imageBIDBody image distortionBMIBody mass indexCFIComparative fit indexCRCognitive restraintDEBQDutch Eating Behavior QuestionnaireEEEmotional eatingHLS-14the 14-item health literacy scaleIQRInterquartile rangeRMSEARoot mean square approximation errorSDsStandard deviationsTFEQThree-Factor Eating QuestionnaireTFEQ-R18V2Japanese version of the 18-item Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 version 2UEUncontrolled eating