1
|
Albajri E, Naseeb M. Sex differences in intuitive eating and its relationship with body mass index among adults aged 18-40 years in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Front Nutr 2023; 10:1214480. [PMID: 37538925 PMCID: PMC10395086 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1214480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Intuitive eating (IE) is eating without judgment, relying only on physiological hunger and satiety. Sex differences in IE have been reported; however, none of the studies have explicitly examined IE and its relationship with body mass index (BMI) in the Saudi Arabian population. Thus, this study aimed to investigate sex differences in IE and its relationship with BMI in the Saudi population. Subjects/methods A cross-sectional online survey of 360 participants (18 years or older) with self-reported weight and height was conducted. IE was measured using the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2). Separate multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine if total IE and its subscale scores differed across sexes. It was also conducted to assess the relationship between IE and BMI across sexes. Results Women had higher total IE score, eating for physical rather than emotional reasons (EPR), and body-food choice congruence (BFCC) scores compared to men (p = 0.013, p = 0.01, p <0.001, respectively). The analysis showed a significant negative association between total IE, BFCC, EPR scores, and BMI in women compared to men (p = 0.023, p = 0.01, p = 0.003, respectively). Conclusion The data on the sex differences in IE and its subscales and their different association with BMI encourage tailing nutrition-related recommendations in the context of intuitive eating based on sexes. Future studies are needed to explore how intuitive eating functions differently in women compared to men and explore the causal relationship between IE and BMI in this population.
Collapse
|
2
|
Fekih-Romdhane F, Jiang C, Obeid S, Malaeb D, Chammas N, Fawaz M, Soufia M, Meng R, Hallit S. Psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 ( IES-2) in a sample of community adults. J Eat Disord 2023; 11:53. [PMID: 37005688 PMCID: PMC10067204 DOI: 10.1186/s40337-023-00782-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is a growing attention on intuitive eating (IE) styles in the Western world that has not yet reached Arab countries, which is likely due to the lack of psychometrically sound measures of the IE construct for Arabic-speaking people. The current study aims to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the most widely used measure of IE-the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), in an Arabic-speaking community population from Lebanon. METHODS Two samples of Arabic-speaking community adults from Lebanon (sample 1: n = 359, 59.9% females, age 22.75 ± 7.04 years; sample 2: n = 444, 72.7% females, age 27.25 ± 9.53 years) were recruited through online convenience sampling. The translation and back-translation method was applied to the IES-2 for linguistic validation. Factorial validity was investigated using an Exploratory Factor Analysis & Confirmatory Factor Analysis strategy. Composite reliability and sex invariance were examined. We also tested convergent and criterion-related validity through correlations with other theoretically plausible constructs. RESULTS Nine out of the original 23 items were removed because they either loaded below 0.40 and/or cross-loaded too highly on multiple factors. This resulted in four domains (Unconditional Permission to Eat, Eating for Physical Rather than Emotional Reasons, Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues, and Body-Food Choice Congruence) and 14 items retained. Internal reliability estimates were excellent, with McDonald's ω values ranging from 0.828 to 0.923 for the four factors. Multigroup analysis established configural, thresholds, metric, scalar, strict invariance across gender. Finally, higher IES-2 total scores were significantly correlated with lower body dissatisfaction scores and more positive eating attitudes, thus attesting to convergent and criterion-related validity of the scale. CONCLUSIONS The current findings provide preliminary evidence for the appropriate psychometric qualities of the Arabic 14-item, four-factor structure IES-2; thereby supporting its use at least among Arabic-speaking community adults.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feten Fekih-Romdhane
- The Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry “Ibn Omrane”, Razi Hospital, 2010 Manouba, Tunisia
- Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Chen Jiang
- School of Public Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121 People’s Republic of China
| | - Sahar Obeid
- Social and Education Sciences Department, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Jbeil, Lebanon
| | - Diana Malaeb
- College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Nancy Chammas
- School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon
| | - Mirna Fawaz
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Tareek Al Jadida, Afeef Al Tiba, Beirut, 1105 Lebanon
| | - Michel Soufia
- School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon
| | - Runtang Meng
- School of Public Health, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121 People’s Republic of China
- Engineering Research Center of Mobile Health Management System, Ministry of Education, Hangzhou, 311121 People’s Republic of China
| | - Souheil Hallit
- School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, P.O. Box 446, Jounieh, Lebanon
- Psychology Department, College of Humanities, Effat University, Jeddah 21478, Saudi Arabia
- Research Department, Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon
- Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
| |
Collapse
|