Eating in response to hunger and satiety signals is related to BMI in a nationwide sample of 1601 mid-age New Zealand women

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between eating in response to hunger and satiety signals (intuitive eating) and BMI. A second objective was to determine whether the hypothesized higher BMI in less intuitive eaters could be explained by the intake of specific foods, speed of eating or binge eating. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Participants were randomly selected from a nationally representative sampling frame. Eating in response to hunger and satiety signals (termed 'intuitive eating'), self-reported height and weight, frequency of binge eating, speed of eating and usual intakes of fruits, vegetables and selected high-fat and/or high-sugar foods were measured. Setting: Nationwide study, New Zealand. Subjects: Women (n 2500) aged 40-50 years randomly selected from New Zealand electoral rolls, including Māori rolls (66 % response rate; n 1601). Results: Intuitive Eating Scale (IES) scores were significantly associated with BMI in an inverse direction, after adjusting for potential confounding variables. When controlling for confounding variables, as well as potential mediators, the inverse association between intuitive eating (potential range of IES score: 21-105) and BMI was only slightly attenuated and remained statistically significant (5?1 % decrease in BMI for every 10-unit increase in intuitive eating; 95 % CI 4?2, 6?1 %; P , 0?0 0 1). The relationship between intuitive eating and BMI was partially mediated by frequency of binge eating. Conclusions: Eating in response to hunger and satiety signals is strongly associated with lower BMI in mid-age women. The direction of causality needs to be investigated in longitudinal studies and randomized controlled trials.

Objective and Subjective Eating Speeds Are Related to Body Composition and Shape in Female College Students

“…The subjects in the present study who assessed themselves as fast eaters tended to be overweight and obese, and indeed ate the test meal with a smaller total number of chews and shorter total meal duration than did the slow eaters. This is consistent with the findings of many previous studies of the relationships between the objectively and subjectively assessed eating speeds and the body composition and shape (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Previous studies have also demonstrated that fast eating induces overeating, and that overeating is related to weight gain due to the ingestion of a larger volume of food before experiencing satiety (22)(23)(24).…”

“…Cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies have provided strong evidence for fast eating inducing overweight (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). The subjects in the present study who assessed themselves as fast eaters tended to be overweight and obese, and indeed ate the test meal with a smaller total number of chews and shorter total meal duration than did the slow eaters.…”

“…Slow eating, which involves chewing food slowly and thoroughly, is an effective strategy for preventing overweight and obesity, with many previous studies having found eating speed to be related to the body composition and shape (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). However, these studies were limited by their use of questionnaires to assess the eating speed.…”

“…The present study assessed eating speed both objectively and subjectively because it was unclear whether the subjective eating speed, as used in previous studies (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18), actually reflects a subject's actual eating speed. The objectively assessed variables of eating speed, total number of chews and total meal duration were significantly negatively correlated with the body mass, %Fat, BMI, and circumferences of the waist, abdomen and hip.…”

Review Article Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: literature review

“…Differences between intuitive eating and other 'non-diet' approaches to eating Non-/un-/anti-dieting and Health at Every Size Intuitive eating is a fundamental component of non-dieting and Health at Every Size approaches to eating (25) . These latter approaches, however, generally argue that one can be healthy regardless of (over)weight and often address prejudice against overweight or obese people (26)(27)(28)(29) .…”