Abstract
BackgroundGrazing, the repetitious and unplanned eating of small amounts of food with or without a sense of loss of control (LOC), is an eating pattern of recent interest which is highly prevalent in eating disorders and obesity. The current study aimed to (1) assess psychometric properties of a short inventory of grazing (SIG), consisting of a “grazing in general” item and a “compulsive/LOC grazing” item and (2) examine associations between compulsive and non-compulsive grazing and body mass index (BMI), eating disorder psychopathology, distress and health-related quality of life.MethodsParticipants recruited from a university and the community (n = 227; 75.3% female; age = 25.00 (9.88; 17.58–57.17) years; BMI = 23.24 (4.91, 14.20–46.06) kg/m2) completed an online test battery including the SIG. Parametric and non-parametric statistics were computed to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity, to test associations between the SIG and the other study variables, and to examine between-group differences.ResultsThe SIG demonstrated appropriate psychometric properties. Results indicated that both grazing in general and low-frequency LOC grazing are common; however, LOC grazing of moderate-severe frequency and/or associated with marked distress is unusual. Frequency of LOC grazing, but not grazing in general, was significantly associated with higher BMI, psychological distress, compensatory behaviours and lower mental health-related quality of life. The presence of compulsive grazing was also associated with eating disorder caseness and binge-type eating disorder diagnostic groups.ConclusionsResults support the positioning of “compulsive” LOC grazing on a continuum of problematic eating. The SIG is a parsimonious measure of this eating pattern of emergent interest.
Highlights
Grazing, the repetitious and unplanned eating of small amounts of food with or without a sense of loss of control (LOC), is an eating pattern of recent interest which is highly prevalent in eating disorders and obesity
Plain English summary Grazing is the repetitive and unplanned eating of small amounts of food that sometimes includes a feeling of loss of control, i.e. that you cannot stop or resist eating
Grazing is common in eating disorders and obesity
Summary
The repetitious and unplanned eating of small amounts of food with or without a sense of loss of control (LOC), is an eating pattern of recent interest which is highly prevalent in eating disorders and obesity. The current study aimed to (1) assess psychometric properties of a short inventory of grazing (SIG), consisting of a “grazing in general” item and a “compulsive/LOC grazing” item and (2) examine associations between compulsive and non-compulsive grazing and body mass index (BMI), eating disorder psychopathology, distress and health-related quality of life. Both obesity and eating disorders (ED) are global contributors to disability, morbidity and mortality [1, 2]. A prior study surveying grazing presence and frequency in a non-clinical sample of university students indicated that approximately 90% of participants endorsed some grazing, with 21% grazing on approximately half the number of days over the past month, 12% grazing most days, and 5% grazing every day [8]
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