title: Appetitive traits and relationships with BMI in adults: Development of the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire.
abstract: The Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a validated parent-report measure of appetitive traits associated with weight in childhood. There is currently no matched measure for use in adults. The aim of this study was to adapt the CEBQ into a self-report Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ) to explore whether the associations between appetitive traits and BMI observed in children are present in adults. Two adult samples were recruited one year apart from an online survey panel in 2013 (n = 708) and 2014 (n = 954). Both samples completed the AEBQ and self-reported their weight and height. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to derive 35 items for the AEBQ in Sample 1 and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to replicate the factor structure in Sample 2. Reliability of the AEBQ was assessed using Cronbach's α and a two week test-retest in a sub-sample of 93 participants. Correlations between appetitive traits measured by the AEBQ and BMI were calculated. PCA and CFA results showed the AEBQ to be a reliable questionnaire (Cronbach's α > 0.70) measuring 8 appetitive traits similar to the CEBQ [Hunger (H), Food Responsiveness (FR), Emotional Over-Eating (EOE), Enjoyment of Food (EF), Satiety Responsiveness (SR), Emotional Under-eating (EUE), Food Fussiness (FF) and Slowness in Eating (SE)]. Associations with BMI showed FR, EF (p < 0.05) and EOE (p < 0.01) were positively associated and SR, EUE and SE (p < 0.01) were negatively associated. Overall, the AEBQ appears to be a reliable measure of appetitive traits in adults which translates well from the validated child measure. Adults with a higher BMI had higher scores for 'food approach' traits (FR, EOE and EF) and lower scores for 'food avoidance' traits (SR, EUE and SE).
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hunot
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fildes
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Croker
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Clare H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Llewellyn
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardle
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: r.beeken@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Beeken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001066:Appetite; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012527:Satiation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adults; Appetite; Appetitive traits; Food responsiveness; Obesity; Overweight; Questionnaire; Satiety responsiveness