Examining Race and Gender Differences in Associations Among Body Appreciation, Eudaimonic Psychological Well-Being, and Intuitive Eating and Exercising

Purpose: The present study examined race and gender differences among positive psychological constructs, and adaptive eating and exercise behaviors. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Online. Sample: College students (N = 1,228; Mage = 22.27, SD = 5.83). Measures: Participants completed measures assessing positive body image, eudaimonic psychological well-being, and health behaviors. Analyses: Multi-group structural equation modeling was used to examine whether White versus Black race and, separately, woman versus man gender identity moderated associations among body appreciation, eudaimonic psychological well-being, and intuitive eating and intuitive exercising. Results: Results generally indicated that greater body appreciation was associated with greater eudaimonic psychological well-being (βs = 0.48, 0.56) and, in turn, intuitive eating (βs = −0.20, 0.25) and intuitive exercising (βs = −0.06, 0.23). However, notable variations in this pattern of results were identified based on the facet of intuitive eating and exercising under investigation, and participants’ racial identities. For example, greater eudaimonic psychological well-being strictly mediated a positive association between body appreciation and reliance on hunger and satiety cues intuitive eating behaviors among participants who identified as Black (95%CI: 0.01, 0.12), but not White (95%CI: −0.08, 0.04). Conclusions: Although the present findings warrant replication using longitudinal designs due to the cross-sectional nature of the present study, these findings suggest that increasing adults’ eudaimonic psychological well-being may help improve health-promoting eating and exercise behaviors, and should be assessed as a mechanism of change in future clinical research.