Examining women's perceptions of their mother's and romantic partner's interpersonal styles for a better understanding of their eating regulation and intuitive eating

Motivation to regulate eating behaviors, intuitive eating, and well-being: A dyadic study with mothers and adult daughters

Intuitive eating, defined as relying on physiological cues to determine when, what, and how much to eat while maintaining a positive relationship with food (Tribole & Resch, 1995), has gained a lot of research attention in the last two decades. The present study sought to determine how motivation for regulating eating behaviors is related to intuitive eating and well-being outcomes in dyads of mothers and their adult daughters (n = 214). Structural equation modelling revealed that controlling for dieting and desire to lose weight, both mothers' and daughters' autonomous motivation was positively associated with their own intuitive eating while their controlled motivation was negatively associated with intuitive eating. In turn, intuitive eating was positively associated with well-being in both mothers and daughters. Interestingly, mothers' intuitive eating was also positively related to their daughters' well-being. The analysis of indirect effects suggests that mothers' motivation to regulate eating behaviors has an indirect (mediating) relationship with daughters' well-being through mothers' intuitive eating. The implications for women's health and well-being are discussed.

Motivational profiles for eating behavior and their associations with intuitive eating

Intuitive eating is an adaptive eating approach shown to have positive psychological and physical health outcomes. Understanding the motivation behind eating behavior can provide valuable information for why some women eat intuitively and others do not. Using self-determination theory (SDT), this study aimed to identify motivational profiles for eating behavior and examine differences in intuitive eating across these motivational profiles. A nationally representative sample of New Zealand women (n = 1447) aged 40-50 years (M = 45.4; SD = 3.2) completed questionnaires assessing motivation and intuitive eating. Latent profile analysis identified five profiles characterized by varying levels of the global and specific forms of behavioral regulation described by SDT. The self-determined profile, characterized by high levels of global self-determination, had higher intuitive eating scores. The internalized profile, characterized by high levels of identified and integrated regulation, had average intuitive eating scores. The conflicted profile, characterized by high levels on most forms of behavioral regulation, and the unmotivated profile, characterized low levels on all forms of behavioral regulation, had a mix of high and low intuitive eating subscale scores. The amotivated profile, characterized by very high levels of amotivation, had lower intuitive eating scores. A motivational profile characterized by higher levels of self-determination and lower levels of the extrinsic forms of behavioral regulation appears to be beneficial for intuitive eating. Therefore, SDT-informed eating behavior interventions that enhance women's self-determined motivation should be created to facilitate intuitive eating in midlife women.

Validation of the French-Canadian Translation of the ecSatter Inventory 2.0 in an Adult Sample

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the psychometric proprieties of the French-Canadian translation of the Satter Eating Competence Inventory (FrCanada ecSI 2.0).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional validation study.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

424 French-Canadian adult Facebook users (61.8% women, 96.0% White).

VARIABLES MEASURED

Eating competence and variables related to eating or body image.

ANALYSIS

Factor analyses to assess the structural validity. Cronbach α and intraclass correlation coefficient to estimate reliability. Chi-square test of independence, Student t test, and Pearson's correlations to assess construct validity.

RESULTS

The mean eating competence score was 33.0 ± 7.8; 62.0% of participants were considered competent eaters (total score ≥ 32/48). The original 4-factor structure was not reproduced (unsatisfactory fit indices and/or factor loadings). Therefore, it is recommended to use the global score-but not the subscale scores-of the FrCanada ecSI 2.0. The questionnaire showed good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.86) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.81). Competent and noncompetent eaters differed according to gender (39.5% vs 27.3% male; P = 0.03), age (49.3 ± 13.6 vs 42.7 ± 14.2 years; P < 0.01), education (62.3% vs 50.6% with a university degree; P = 0.03), intuitive eating (3.6 ± 0.5 vs 3.1 ± 0.6; P < 0.001), cognitive restraint (12.3 ± 3.3 vs 13.8 ± 3.7; P < 0.001), and body esteem (3.3 ± 0.8 vs 2.5 ± 0.8; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Results suggest that the FrCanada ecSI 2.0 is a valid and reliable tool to measure eating competence in French-Canadian adults.

Practicing Interoceptive Sensitivity as a Couple: A Mixed-Methods Acceptance Analysis of a Dyadic vs. Single Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Training interoceptive sensitivity (IS) might be a first step in effectively promoting intuitive eating (IE). A dyadic interoception-based pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted to increase IE among couples aged 50+. The training consisted of three exercises, a Body Scan (BS), a hunger exercise (HU), and a satiety (SA) exercise. This study explored how spouses accepted the (dyadic vs. single) training. In a mixed-methods convergence design, the findings of a survey (n = 68 couples) and focus groups (n = 4) were synthesized. Moderate general acceptance (e.g., regarding feasibility and low burden) and a hierarchical gradient in favor of the BS (e.g., pleasantness and improved sleep quality) emerged. Barriers concerned a perceived lack of the exercises' usefulness and a limited understanding of the training purpose. A wish for regular feedback and exchange with the study stuff and other participants was expressed. Spousal training involvement was experienced as being rather beneficial. Previously harmonized dietary practices and daily routines appeared as constructive pre-conditions for the joint training. This study highlights the potential and implications of training couples in IS. Future interventions should involve a regular exchange and closer guidance by study staff to promote a better understanding of the processes and goals of IS and IE.

Examining the associations between mothers' motivation to regulate their own eating behaviors, food parenting practices and perceptions of their child's food responsiveness

Based on the Self-Determination Theory, this study examined: 1) how mothers' autonomous and controlled motivation to regulate their own eating behaviors relate to their food parenting practices, and 2) whether and how child food responsiveness (i.e., reactivity and attraction to food) interact with mothers' motivation to predict maternal food parenting practices. Participants were 296 French Canadian mothers of at least one child aged between 2 and 8 years old. Results of partial correlation analyses (controlling for demographics and controlled motivation) showed that maternal autonomous motivation to regulate their own eating behaviors was positively related to autonomy-promoting (i.e., child involvement) and structure-based (i.e., modeling, creating a healthy environment, monitoring) food parenting practices. In contrast, controlling for demographics and autonomous motivation, maternal controlled motivation was positively associated with food-related practices based on coercive control (i.e., the use of food to regulate the child's emotions, the use of food as a reward, pressure to eat, restriction for weight reasons, and restriction for health reasons). Furthermore, the child's food responsiveness was found to interact with mothers' motivation to regulate their own eating behaviors in the prediction of maternal food parenting practices such that mothers with high autonomous motivation or low controlled motivation were found to react with more structure-based (i.e., creating a healthy environment) and autonomy-based (i.e., child involvement) practices, as well as less controlling practices (i.e., the use of food to regulate the child's emotions), to a child who is highly responsive to food. In conclusion, findings suggest that guiding mothers toward developing a more autonomous and less controlled motivation to regulate their own eating behaviors might help them adopt more autonomy-promoting and structure-based and less controlling feeding practices, especially with children who are highly responsive to food.

A snapshot of eating behaviors in undergraduate college students living in South Florida

Objective: To examine a) whether college students' eating behaviors are different by students' sex and/or body mass index (BMI) categories and b) the correlations between college students' eating behaviors and the degree to which they rely on internal bodily signals for food intake. Participants: Undergraduate college students 18-24 years old at a public university located in South Florida. Methods: Eligible students answered questionnaires to examine interoception, intuitive eating, and eating behaviors including emotional eating, restrained eating, cognitive restraint, external eating, and uncontrolled eating. Pearson correlation and independent t test were used (significance: p < 0.05). Results: Females reported lower interoception, intuitive eating, and higher emotional eating than males. Students with lower BMI had higher intuitive eating and lower restrained eating. Interoception was positively correlated with intuitive eating and negatively correlated with emotional, uncontrolled, restrained, and external eating. Conclusion: College students who have a better connection with their bodily signals have healthier eating behaviors and lower BMI.

Body image and eating behaviors: A latent profile analysis

Body image is multidimensional and less is known about how the combination of positive and negative body image relates to eating behaviors. We used a person-centered approach to identify profiles of body image and explore the relationship between profile membership, sex, age, race, and current marital status, and eating behaviors in a community sample of adults. We recruited 288 adults 18 and older living in the United States using Prolific Academic. Participants completed an online survey assessing body appreciation, functionality appreciation, body dissatisfaction, weight bias internalization, and adaptive and maladaptive eating behaviors. We used latent profile analysis to identify four distinct body image profiles: appreciation & mild dissatisfaction, functional appreciation & moderate dissatisfaction, strong dissatisfaction, and strong appreciation. Profile membership differed by sex with more women and younger adults in profiles higher in negative body image. The relationships between profiles and eating behaviors differed; the three profiles including negative body image had the lowest adaptive and highest maladaptive eating behaviors. The identification of clinically relevant profiles: (1) confirm positive and negative body image coexist, (2) identify high- and low-risk profiles of body image and eating behavior, and (3) offer preliminary suggestions for screening and tailoring preventive interventions.

Intuitive eating in light of other eating styles and motives: Experiences with construct validity and the Hungarian adaptation of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2

Intuitive eating (IE), an adaptive eating approach, has been identified as a plausible positive determinant of physical and mental well-being. This cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine the construct validity of IE measured by the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2). The conceptual network of different adaptive and maladaptive eating behaviors was also explored. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), measurement invariance testing, and correlation analyses were applied on the data from a sample of 732 Hungarian university students. Validating variables included several eating behavior styles (i.e., obesogenic eating behaviors, mindful eating [ME], and dieting practices) and motivational factors (i.e., autonomous, controlled, and amotivational sources of healthy eating, and internalization of the thin and muscular body ideals). The results of the CFA supported the original four-factor structure of the IES-2 without a global second-order factor. The scale exhibited measurement invariance on the scalar level across sexes and BMI categories. The IES-2 subscales showed adequate reliability. IE and ME were found to be positively related but conceptually distinct constructs. Autonomous motivation for healthy eating, restrained eating, and current dieting exhibited different yet meaningful associations to IE on the subscale level. Undertaking subscale-level analyses is recommended when using the IES-2.

Individuals with self-determined motivation for eating have better overall diet quality: Results from the PREDISE study

The study aimed at documenting motivational orientations for the regulation of eating as defined by self-determination theory and their association with sociodemographic characteristics and overall diet quality. As part of the PREDISE study, French-speaking women (n = 550) and men (n = 547), aged 18-65 years, living in the Province of Québec, Canada, completed online validated questionnaires. The Regulation of Eating Behavior Scale, based on the self-determination theory, assessed self-determined and non-self-determined motivation to regulate one's eating behavior. Three web-based 24-h food recalls were completed and used to compute the Canadian Healthy Eating Index 2007 (C-HEI), an indicator of the overall adherence to Canadian guidelines for healthy eating. Multiple linear regressions were performed to assess how regulation styles are associated with the C-HEI. Model 1 included no covariate, model 2 included sociodemographic covariates, and fully adjusted model 3 included as covariates sociodemographic variables as well as variables that were previously associated with diet quality, namely nutrition knowledge and social support for healthy eating. Women (p < 0.0001), older individuals (p = 0.0002), those with a higher education level (p < 0.0001), and non-smokers (p < 0.0001) reported higher self-determined motivation score than their counterparts. Self-determined motivation was positively (model 1: B = 4.67, p < 0.0001; model 2: B = 3.82, p < 0.0001; model 3: B = 3.61, p < 0.0001) and non-self-determined motivation was negatively (model 1: B = -1.62, p = 0.0009; model 2: B = -1.63, p = 0.0006; model 2: B = -1.49, p = 0.0022) associated with C-HEI. The present study suggests that some subgroups of the general adult population show more self-determined motivation for eating, which is associated with a better diet quality independently of individual characteristics and other individual and social determinants of healthy eating. Strategies to help individuals internalize the regulation of eating should be further investigated.

Intuitive eating mediates the relationship between self-regulation and BMI - Results from a cross-sectional study in a community sample

Self-regulation is a dispositional skill of regulating attention and emotion to attain a certain goal. Poor self-regulation is associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) and is a risk factor for the development of obesity. Intuitive eating, an adaptive eating style characterized by eating in response to internal cues of hunger and satiety, is associated with a lower BMI. Using cross-sectional data, this study examined whether intuitive eating mediates the relationship between self-regulation and BMI in a community sample of adults. Participants (N = 530) completed the Self-Regulation Scale, the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 with its facets Unconditional Permission to Eat (UPE), Eating for Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons (EPR), Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues (RHSC) and Body-Food Choice Congruence (B-FCC). They also self-reported their height and weight. Using percentile bootstrap resampling procedures, the simple mediation analysis showed an indirect relationship between self-regulation and BMI through intuitive eating. The multiple mediation analysis revealed that EPR and B-FCC, but not UPE and RHSC, mediated the relationship between self-regulation and BMI. Intuitive eating seems to play an important intermediating role in the relationship between self-regulation and BMI. Regarding weight management interventions, it could be useful to promote intuitive eating, especially for individuals with low self-regulation. Prospective studies are needed to explore the causal and temporal relationships among self-regulation, intuitive eating and BMI.

A systematic review of the psychosocial correlates of intuitive eating among adult women

Intuitive eating has been proposed as an eating style that fosters a positive attitude towards food, the body, and physical activity. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to examine intuitive eating in relation to disordered eating, body image, emotional functioning, and other psychosocial correlates in adult women. Articles were identified through Academic Search Complete, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Health Source (Nursing and Academic Edition), Medline Complete, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PubMed and Scopus. Eligible studies were those that examined women aged 18 years and older, measured intuitive eating, and assessed a psychosocial correlate of intuitive eating. Twenty-four cross-sectional studies, published between 2006 and September 2015, met eligibility criteria. Intuitive eating was associated with less disordered eating, a more positive body image, greater emotional functioning, and a number of other psychosocial correlates that have been examined less extensively. However, given that all studies used cross-sectional designs, no conclusions regarding the direction of the relationship between intuitive eating and psychosocial correlates can be drawn. Participants in the majority of studies were university students in the United States so findings cannot be generalised to the wider population of female adults. Prospective studies are now needed to verify these cross-sectional findings, and show if intuitive eating may reduce disordered eating and body image concerns, and promote women's psychological health and well-being.