Perceived daily tension and food cravings and consumption: A within- and between-person investigation

Momentary stress-induced food craving: An ecological momentary assessment study comparing perceived interpersonal and non-interpersonal stressors

Daily-life stressors and food cravings are dynamic and vary within and across persons. Some evidence suggests interpersonal stressors increase appetite. However, little is known about the association of food craving with different types of stressors at the momentary level in the general population. We aimed to explore the momentary relationships between daily-life stressful events and food craving in a non-clinical community sample, and to compare the associations with food craving when the most stressful event was perceived as interpersonal versus non-interpersonal. We used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to collect reports on the most stressful event, perceived stressor type, stressor appraisal, and food craving from 123 adults three times a day scheduled at fixed intervals over 10 days. Mixed effects random intercepts and slopes models examined the within- and between-person associations. Experiencing a stressor was significantly positively associated with within-person food craving at the same measurement. No differences in momentary food craving were found when the most stressful event was perceived as interpersonal or non-interpersonal (within-person level). However, frequently reporting the most stressful event as interpersonal (vs. non-interpersonal) was positively associated with food craving across the study (between-person level), particularly when the stressor was appraised as more unpleasant. Daily-life stressors were associated with momentary food craving. Individuals who generally perceived interpersonal stressors as their most stressful event tended to experience food cravings. Future research could further investigate the role of interpersonal stressors as a factor for overeating in daily life and the potential benefits of stress management in interventions.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Eating Beliefs Questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was the cross-cultural adaptation of the Eating Belief Questionnaire (EBQ)-an instrument that assesses positive, negative, and permissive eating beliefs in relation to binge eating episodes-in its shorted version of 18 questions, into Brazilian Portuguese, for female teenagers.

METHODS

Conceptual, semantic, cultural and operational equivalence of the items were evaluated. The semantic and cultural equivalence involved 12 bilingual people and 12 experts in eating behavior. Operational equivalence consisted of applying the transcultural adapted version of the EBQ-18 to 20 girls with a mean age of 17.55 (SD=1.00) years. Item's clarity and understanding were assessed by the Content Validity Coefficient.

RESULTS

Questions 5, 6, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, with adequate classification percentage for all equivalences, were not altered. The other items were adapted according to the committee's suggestions and by consensus among researchers. The adapted version of the EBQ-18 in Brazilian Portuguese displayed good content validity coefficient for clarity (CVC=0.975) and comprehension (CVC=0.971); except for item 3, all items had values between 0.88 and 1.00.

CONCLUSION

The Brazilian Portuguese version of the EBQ-18 had a good understanding by the adolescent public when it comes to investigate the role of dietary beliefs in the maintenance of binge eating episodes. Future studies with adolescents are recommended, jointly assessing risk for and presence of eating disorders in significant clinical and non-clinical samples, as well as its psychometrics properties.

Adaptação transcultural do Eating Beliefs Questionnaire para português do Brasil

RESUMO Objetivo: Conduzir adaptação transcultural, para o português brasileiro, da versão reduzida de 18 questões do Eating Belief Questionnaire (EBQ) ao público de meninas adolescentes. O instrumento avalia crenças positivas, negativas e permissivas do comer com relação a episódios de compulsão. Métodos: Realizou-se avaliação das equivalências conceitual, semântica, cultural e operacional dos itens. A equivalência semântica e cultural envolveu 12 bilíngues e 12 especialistas em comportamento alimentar. A equivalência operacional consistiu na aplicação da versão transcultural adaptada do EBQ-18 em 20 meninas, com média de idade de 17,55 anos (DP=1,00). O grau de clareza e compreensão das questões foi avaliado pelo coeficiente de validade de conteúdo. Resultados: Na avaliação semântica e cultural, 8 itens tiveram classificação adequada para todas as equivalências e não sofreram alterações; 10 itens foram alterados de forma mínima, conforme sugestões dos especialistas e mediante consenso entre pesquisadoras; e apenas o item 3 sofreu adaptação após resultados da equivalência operacional. O modelo adaptado para o português apresentou bom coeficiente de validade de conteúdo para clareza (CVC=0,975) e compreensão (CVC=0,971); com exceção do item 3, todos os itens foram avaliados com valores entre 0,88 e 1,00. Conclusão: A versão em português do EBQ-18 apresentou-se com boa compreensão do público adolescente para investigação do papel de crenças alimentares na manutenção de episódios de compulsão. Recomendam-se trabalhos futuros avaliando conjuntamente risco e presença de transtornos alimentares em amostras significativas clínicas e não clínicas, bem como suas propriedades psicométricas.

Delivering the Multisensory Experience of Dining-Out, for Those Dining-In, During the Covid Pandemic

In many parts of the world, restaurants have been forced to close in unprecedented numbers during the various Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns that have paralyzed the hospitality industry globally. This highly-challenging operating environment has led to a rapid expansion in the number of high-end restaurants offering take-away food, or home-delivery meal kits, simply in order to survive. While the market for the home delivery of food was already expanding rapidly prior to the emergence of the Covid pandemic, the explosive recent growth seen in this sector has thrown up some intriguing issues and challenges. For instance, concerns have been raised over where many of the meals that are being delivered are being prepared, given the rise of so-called "dark kitchens." Furthermore, figuring out which elements of the high-end, fine-dining experience, and of the increasingly-popular multisensory experiential dining, can be captured by those diners who may be eating and drinking in the comfort of their own homes represents an intriguing challenge for the emerging field of gastrophysics research; one that the chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant groups, and even the food delivery companies concerned are only just beginning to get to grips with. By analyzing a number of the high-end fine-dining home food delivery options that have been offered (in the UK and in the US) in this narrative review, we highlight a number of promising directions for those wanting to optimize the at-home multisensory dining experience, wherever in the world they might be.