title: Identifying eating behavior phenotypes and their correlates: A novel direction toward improving weight management interventions.
abstract: Common reports of over-response to food cues, difficulties with calorie restriction, and difficulty adhering to dietary guidelines suggest that eating behaviors could be interrelated in ways that influence weight management efforts. The feasibility of identifying robust eating phenotypes (showing face, content, and criterion validity) was explored based on well-validated individual eating behavior assessments. Adults (n = 260; mean age 34 years) completed online questionnaires with measurements of nine eating behaviors including: appetite for palatable foods, binge eating, bitter taste sensitivity, disinhibition, food neophobia, pickiness and satiety responsiveness. Discovery-based visualization procedures that have the combined strengths of heatmaps and hierarchical clustering were used to investigate: 1) how eating behaviors cluster, 2) how participants can be grouped within eating behavior clusters, and 3) whether group clustering is associated with body mass index (BMI) and dietary self-efficacy levels. Two distinct eating behavior clusters and participant groups that aligned within these clusters were identified: one with higher drive to eat and another with food avoidance behaviors. Participants' BMI (p = 0.0002) and dietary self-efficacy (p < 0.0001) were associated with cluster membership. Eating behavior clusters showed content and criterion validity based on their association with BMI (associated, but not entirely overlapping) and dietary self-efficacy. Identifying eating behavior phenotypes appears viable. These efforts could be expanded and ultimately inform tailored weight management interventions.
authors.affiliation: Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 31, Room B1B54, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: sofia.bouhlal@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouhlal
authors.affiliation: Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Road NE Mailstop 1518-002-5AA (SPH: Behavioral Sciences & Health Education), Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Electronic address: Colleen.marie.mcbride@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Colleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.affiliation: Computational and Statistical Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 50 South Drive, Room 5228, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: niraj.trivedi@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Niraj S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Trivedi
authors.affiliation: Health Behaviors Research Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA. Electronic address: collinsta@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Agurs-Collins
authors.affiliation: Social and Behavioral Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 31, Room B1B54, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: perskys@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Persky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001066:Appetite; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D012527:Satiation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055697:Taste Perception
keywords: BMI; Eating behaviors; Heatmap; Phenotypes; Self-efficacy