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).

IntroductionAppetitive traits, including Food Responsiveness, Enjoyment of Food, Satiety Responsiveness, Emotional Over- and Under-Eating, Food Fussiness and Slowness in Eating, have been captured across childhood using the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ). The Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ) has explored these traits in adults, but not adolescents. This study aimed to test the factor structure and reliability of the AEBQ in a sample of UK adolescents, and explore demographic differences.Materials and MethodsConfirmatory factor analysis (CFA) tested an 8-factor and a 7-factor AEBQ, based on valid, completed AEBQ responses (n = 913) from adolescents aged 11–18 recruited from four London secondary schools. Test–retest reliability was analyzed in a subsample (n = 106) 2-weeks later, and 492 participants completed the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) to assess convergent validity. Demographic differences were explored using a multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) model.ResultsThe CFA revealed an adequate model fit for a 7-factor structure without Hunger [RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI:0.035,0.041); CFI = 0.926, TLI = 0.916; and χ2(df = 595) = 8502.69, p < 0.001]. These seven subscales showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α > 0.70). The ICC for the test–retest was above 0.70. Comparisons with the DEBQ supported the convergent validity of the AEBQ. Older age was associated with greater Food Responsiveness and Enjoyment of Food (all p-values < 0.005). Females reported higher levels of Emotional Over-Eating, Satiety Responsiveness, and Slowness in Eating than males (all p-values ≤ 0.003).ConclusionThis study supports the use of the 7-factor AEBQ as a reliable measure of appetitive traits in adolescents.

Purpose Appetitive traits in adults and their associations with weight can be measured using the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ). The aim of this study was to confirm the factor structure of the Spanish AEBQ (AEBQ-Esp) in a Mexican sample and explore associations between the eight traits with body mass index (BMI). Method A sample of 1023 adults, mean age of 36.8 ± 12.8 years, was recruited from Guadalajara, Mexico. Researchers weighed and measured participants, and they completed the AEBQ-Esp either online or in paper format and reported sociodemographic data. To test two alternative factor structures (eight factors including Hunger; seven factors excluding Hunger), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used. Internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha; test–retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients. Multivariate linear regressions were used to test for associations between the AEBQ subscales and BMI, adjusted for age, sex, format of AEBQ responses, education, marital and employment status. Results A seven-factor structure was the best model fit using CFA, excluding the Hunger subscale but similar to the original AEBQ. Internal reliability was good for all subscales (Cronbach’s α = 0.70–0.86), and the intra-class correlation coefficient (0.70–0.91) reflected good test–retest reliability. In the fully adjusted models, Satiety Responsiveness [β = − 0.61; (− 1.01, − 0.21)] and Slowness in Eating [β = − 0.70; (− 1.01, − 0.39)] were negatively associated with BMI, and Emotional Over-Eating [β = 0.94; (0.62, 1.27)] was positively associated with BMI. Conclusions The AEBQ-Esp (excluding Hunger) appears to be a valid and reliable psychometric questionnaire for measuring appetitive traits in a Mexican Spanish-speaking population. Some traits appear to be associated with BMI in adulthood and warrant further exploration. Level of evidence Level III evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies. Although this was just an observational study, it was well designed and provided new evidence.

The Mexican Ministry of Health requested the National Institute of Public Health to constitute a group of independent, free of conflict-of-interest academic experts on front-of-pack labelling (FOP). This group was instructed to created a positioning paper to contribute to the development of a FOP system for industrialized products that offers useful information for purchase decision making. This position paper uses the best available scientific evidence, and recommendations from experts of international organizations. The FOP proposal focuses on the contents of energy, nutrients, ingredients and components that if consumed in excess on the diet, can be harmful to people's health, such as added sugars, sodium, total fat, saturated fat and energy. The academic expert group recommends the implementation of a FOP that provides an easy way to quickly assess the quality of a product. It is essential that this FOP provides direct, simple, visible and easily understandable information.

The current study aimed to test the factor structure of the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ), its construct validity against the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18) and its associations with body mass index (BMI) in Canadian adults (n = 534, 76% female). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that a seven-factor AEBQ model, with the Hunger subscale removed, had better fit statistics than the original eight-factor structure. Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the internal reliability of each subscale and resulted with α &gt; 0.70 for all subscales except for Hunger (α = 0.68). Pearson’s correlations were used to inform the convergent and discriminant validation of AEBQ against the TFEQ-R18 and to examine the relationship between AEBQ and BMI. All AEBQ Food Approach subscales positively correlated with that of the TFEQ-R18 Emotional Eating and Uncontrolled Eating subscales. Similarly, BMI correlated positively with Food Approach subscales (except Hunger) and negatively with Food Avoidance subscales (except Food Fussiness). These results support the use of a seven-factor AEBQ for adults self-reporting eating behaviors, construct validity of the AEBQ against TFEB-R18, and provide further evidence for the association of these traits with BMI.