Can body appreciation, body function and body mass index contribute to intuitive eating?

Abstract

This study explores a non-weight centric approach to eating behaviour assessment, by examining the patterns of association between body appreciation, body function and BMI and intuitive eating. It extends existing research to focus on a diverse non-clinical sample and explores the moderating effect of age on variables. A correlational study design was applied, where body appreciation, body function and BMI were served as predictors, and intuitive eating as the outcome variable. Age was included as a covariate. Multiple regression analysis, using the Enter Method, and partial correlations were performed to test the study hypotheses. Non-clinical participants (N=139), from 22 countries, provided data online using validated self-report measures of body appreciation (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015), body function (OBCS; McKinley & Hyde, 1996), BMI, and intuitive eating (IES-2; Tylka & Kroon Van Diest, 2013). Body appreciation, body function and BMI were associated with intuitive eating behaviour, explaining 45.1 per cent of total variance. Body appreciation and body function were positively associated with intuitive eating, while BMI showed negative association. The proposed relationships were moderated by age. Findings provide further support on the field of intuitive eating behaviour and draws fruitful directions for further research of non-weight centric approaches.