Examining the validity and consistency of the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire-Espa\xf1ol (AEBQ-Esp) and its relationship to BMI in a Mexican population

Claudia Hunot-Alexander,Clare H Llewellyn,Andrea D Smith,Martha Kaufer-Horwitz,Enrique Romero-Velarde,Laura Patricia Arellano-Gómez,Helen Croker,Alison Fildes,Rebecca J Beeken,Edgar M Vásquez-Garibay

doi:10.1007/s40519-021-01201-9

Abstract

PurposeAppetitive traits in adults and their associations with weight can be measured using the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ). The aim of this study was to confirm the factor structure of the Spanish AEBQ (AEBQ-Esp) in a Mexican sample and explore associations between the eight traits with body mass index (BMI).MethodA sample of 1023 adults, mean age of 36.8 ± 12.8 years, was recruited from Guadalajara, Mexico. Researchers weighed and measured participants, and they completed the AEBQ-Esp either online or in paper format and reported sociodemographic data. To test two alternative factor structures (eight factors including Hunger; seven factors excluding Hunger), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha; test–retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients. Multivariate linear regressions were used to test for associations between the AEBQ subscales and BMI, adjusted for age, sex, format of AEBQ responses, education, marital and employment status.ResultsA seven-factor structure was the best model fit using CFA, excluding the Hunger subscale but similar to the original AEBQ. Internal reliability was good for all subscales (Cronbach’s α = 0.70–0.86), and the intra-class correlation coefficient (0.70–0.91) reflected good test–retest reliability. In the fully adjusted models, Satiety Responsiveness [β = − 0.61; (− 1.01, − 0.21)] and Slowness in Eating [β = − 0.70; (− 1.01, − 0.39)] were negatively associated with BMI, and Emotional Over-Eating [β = 0.94; (0.62, 1.27)] was positively associated with BMI.ConclusionsThe AEBQ-Esp (excluding Hunger) appears to be a valid and reliable psychometric questionnaire for measuring appetitive traits in a Mexican Spanish-speaking population. Some traits appear to be associated with BMI in adulthood and warrant further exploration.Level of evidenceLevel III evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies. Although this was just an observational study, it was well designed and provided new evidence.

Highlights

The growing prevalence of obesity worldwide has increased the need to understand better the variation in individual susceptibility to weight gain [1]
The Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ)-Esp will enable population level data collection of a range of appetitive traits that are of interest in the aetiology of weight variation and, in particular, obesity risk
The findings from this study suggest that associations with body mass index (BMI) may be fewer and smaller than expected, and there is a need to explore these associations further across the lifespan in other Spanish-speaking populations

Summary

Introduction

The growing prevalence of obesity worldwide has increased the need to understand better the variation in individual susceptibility to weight gain [1]. Appetitive traits are behavioural tendencies towards food and eating occasions. Inter-individual variation in appetitive traits such as Food Responsiveness and Satiety Responsiveness has been observed as early as three months of age [4]. This is evidence that some appetitive traits can be observed early in life and track into adolescence [2]. Appetitive traits are measured using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) [5]. Twin studies have reported moderate to high heritability estimates for CEBQ-measured appetitive traits [6,7,8]

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