Faranak Halali1, Anja Lapveteläinen2, Leila Karhunen2, Teuvo Kantanen3. 1. Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: Faranak.halali@uef.fi. 2. Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Kuopio, Finland. 3. Department of Business, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Kuopio, Finland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The number of weight loss attempts may be associated with higher weight status and unfavorable health behaviors as well as dysfunctional eating behaviors. We aimed to study eating behavior tendencies, i.e., cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating among a sample of Finnish adults who had engaged in a different number of attempts to lose weight during their lifetime. METHODS: Data were collected through a web-based survey. Participants completed a background questionnaire (including questions on weight, height, number of attempts to lose weight) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18). Out of 1985 individuals, 1679 with complete data were included in the study. The TFEQ-R18 was tested for its reliability and fit to our study population using Cronbach's alpha and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). RESULTS: Subscales of the TFEQ-R18 had acceptable reliability except for that of 'cognitive restraint', which reached acceptable reliability when three items were deleted (items 15, 16, 18). The revised version of the questionnaire was designated as the TFEQ-R15, which showed good fit based on CFA fit indices. Participants who had attempted to lose weight during their lifetime (n = 1229), especially those with ≥3 weight loss attempts (n = 499), had greater cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and higher body mass index (BMI) than those with no previous weight loss attempts (n = 132). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that eating behavior tendencies, i.e., decreasing tendencies of uncontrolled and emotional eating should receive more emphasis to support successful weight management.
BACKGROUND: The number of weight loss attempts may be associated with higher weight status and unfavorable health behaviors as well as dysfunctional eating behaviors. We aimed to study eating behavior tendencies, i.e., cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating among a sample of Finnish adults who had engaged in a different number of attempts to lose weight during their lifetime. METHODS: Data were collected through a web-based survey. Participants completed a background questionnaire (including questions on weight, height, number of attempts to lose weight) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18). Out of 1985 individuals, 1679 with complete data were included in the study. The TFEQ-R18 was tested for its reliability and fit to our study population using Cronbach's alpha and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). RESULTS: Subscales of the TFEQ-R18 had acceptable reliability except for that of 'cognitive restraint', which reached acceptable reliability when three items were deleted (items 15, 16, 18). The revised version of the questionnaire was designated as the TFEQ-R15, which showed good fit based on CFA fit indices. Participants who had attempted to lose weight during their lifetime (n = 1229), especially those with ≥3 weight loss attempts (n = 499), had greater cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and higher body mass index (BMI) than those with no previous weight loss attempts (n = 132). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that eating behavior tendencies, i.e., decreasing tendencies of uncontrolled and emotional eating should receive more emphasis to support successful weight management.
Authors: F Halali; A Lapveteläinen; K Aittola; R Männikkö; T Tilles-Tirkkonen; E Järvelä-Reijonen; P Absetz; M Kolehmainen; U Schwab; J Lindström; T A Lakka; J Pihlajamäki; L Karhunen Journal: Int J Obes (Lond) Date: 2022-01-12 Impact factor: 5.551