Indirect Effects of Body Mass Index and Sweet Taste Responsiveness on E-Cigarette Dependence: The Role of E-Cigarette Motives

Abstract

Background: Recent research has shown obesity to be associated with e-cigarette use and appeal, but models have yet to examine how weight status may be related to e-cigarette dependence among e-cigarette users. Objectives: To increase our understanding of pathways from body mass index (BMI) to e-cigarette dependence, the present cross-sectional observational study investigated a model in which BMI, sweet taste responsiveness, and the interaction of BMI and sweet taste responsiveness are associated with e-cigarette dependence indirectly via seven conceptually-distinct motives for e-cigarette use. Data from several e-cigarette clinical laboratory research studies were pooled and analyzed; only current e-cigarette users were included in the analyses (N=330). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized model. Results: BMI was positively associated with lower social/environmental goad motives and higher weight control motives, and BMI x sweet taste interaction terms found that sweet taste responsiveness strengthened the association of BMI and weight control motives. BMI was not directly or indirectly associated with e-cigarette dependence nor was there a bivariate association between BMI and e-cigarette dependence. Sweet taste responsiveness was positively associated with greater affiliative attachment motives, cognitive enhancement motives, cue exposure-associative process motives, weight control motives, and affect enhancement motives. Sweet taste responsiveness was bivariately associated with e-cigarette dependence and mediation paths show indirect relations to e-cigarette dependence via three of the seven motives. Conclusions: The findings suggest that sweet taste responsiveness, opposed to BMI, is associated with a wider range of e-cigarette use motives and indirectly relates to e-cigarette dependence via several e-cigarette use motives.

Keywords:

• Obesity
• weight status
• e-cigarettes
• sweet taste
• motives
• dependence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data is available through contacting the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported in part by grants K01DK124435 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Award Number (NIDDK), U54CA180905 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and K23DA045081, K01DA040043, and K24DA048160 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIDDK, NCI, FDA, or NIDA. The funding agencies had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.