Abstract
Knowledge of associations between emotional, external, and restrained eating with food choices is still limited due to the inconsistent results of the previous research. The aim of the study was to adopt the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and then to examine the relationship between emotional, external, and restrained eating styles and dietary patterns distinguished on the basis of intake of fruit and vegetables (fresh and processed separately), fruit and/or vegetable unsweetened juices, sweets and salty snacks, and the adequacy of fruit and vegetable intake. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020, in a sample of 1000 Polish adults. The questionnaire consisted of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, questions on selected food groups intake, and metrics. DEBQ structure was tested using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA, CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM), while multi-group analysis was used to test measurement invariance. Logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between eating styles and dietary patterns, identified with the use of K-means cluster analysis. EFA, CFA and SEM revealed a three-factor, 29-item tool with satisfactory psychometric parameters. Restrained eating (ResEat) and external eating (ExtEat) were found to decrease chances of low intake of both favorable (fruit, vegetables, and unsweetened juices) and unfavorable (sweets and salty snacks) foods and increased the chances of their moderate intake. ResEat increased the probability of the high intake of favorable and moderate or high intake of unfavorable foods. ResEat and ExtEat were predisposed to adequate intake of fruit and vegetables while emotional eating had the opposite effect. Gender, education, and BMI were also found to determine food intake. Our results provide evidence that both eating styles and sociodemographic characteristics should be taken into account while explaining food intake as they may favor healthy and unhealthy eating in different ways.
Highlights
Due to the complexity of dietary behaviors, diverse terms are used to describe their various aspects, i.e., dietary intake, diet, and eating habits [1]
Our results show that External eating (ExtEat) did not vary among different body mass index (BMI) groups, and it increased the likelihood of adequate fruit and vegetables intake, which is in line with the findings that ExtEat might not be a strong predictor of weight gain [51,52]
Due to our observations on complex correlations between eating styles and food choices, it seems that future studies should search for possible mediators of these relationships to obtain a better understanding of the way eating styles can determine food intake
Summary
Due to the complexity of dietary behaviors, diverse terms are used to describe their various aspects, i.e., dietary intake, diet, and eating habits [1]. Eating style (ES)—a construct involving some psychological factors such as food motives, feelings, and thoughts about food—is another term used to characterize dietary behaviors [2,3,4]. External eating (ExtEat), on the other hand, is a tendency to eat in response to environmental factors such as food availability, pleasant food aroma, or other people’s presence [13,14]. Restrained eating (ResEat) is mainly focused on restrictive dieting in order to regulate body weight [15]. The ThreeFactor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) [18], Revised Restraint Scale (RRS) [19], or Dieting and Weight History Questionnaire (DWHQ) [20] might be used to measure ResEat. so far, there has only been one available tool devised to examine ExtEat—The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) [21]. The possibility to use DEBQ in the Polish sample is limited
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