title: Eating Behaviour in the General Population: An Analysis of the Factor Structure of the German Version of the Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ) and Its Association with the Body Mass Index.
abstract: The Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire (TFEQ) is an established instrument to assess eating behaviour. Analysis of the TFEQ-factor structure was based on selected, convenient and clinical samples so far. Aims of this study were (I) to analyse the factor structure of the German version of the TFEQ and (II)--based on the refined factor structure--to examine the association between eating behaviour and the body mass index (BMI) in a general population sample of 3,144 middle-aged and older participants (40-79 years) of the ongoing population based cohort study of the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE Health Study). The factor structure was examined in a split-half analysis with both explorative and confirmatory factor analysis. Associations between TFEQ-scores and BMI values were tested with multiple regression analyses controlled for age, gender, and education. We found a three factor solution for the TFEQ with an 'uncontrolled eating', a 'cognitive restraint' and an 'emotional eating' domain including 29 of the original 51 TFEQ-items. Scores of the 'uncontrolled eating domain' showed the strongest correlation with BMI values (partial r = 0.26). Subjects with scores above the median in both 'uncontrolled eating' and 'emotional eating' showed the highest BMI values (mean = 29.41 kg/m²), subjects with scores below the median in all three domains showed the lowest BMI values (mean = 25.68 kg/m²; F = 72.074, p<0.001). Our findings suggest that the TFEQ is suitable to identify subjects with specific patterns of eating behaviour that are associated with higher BMI values. Such information may help health care professionals to develop and implement more tailored interventions for overweight and obese individuals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Löffler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luck
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Francisca S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Then
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sikorski
authors.affiliation: IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.affiliation: IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Böttcher
authors.affiliation: IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Breitfeld
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Medical Department, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tönjes
authors.affiliation: IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Horstmann
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology (IMISE), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Löffler
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology (IMISE), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thiery
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Day Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.affiliation: IFB AdiposityDiseases, Leipzig University Medical Center, Leipzig, Germany; Division of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Medical Department, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stumvoll
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffi G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Riedel-Heller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires