Preference for Intuition and Deliberation in Eating Decision‐making: Scale validation and associations with eating behaviour and health

Abstract

Objectives. Two distinct lines of research separately regard either deliberately regulated eating or intuitive eating as most beneficial for health. The present research aims to integrate these seemingly contradictory findings by investigating the relationships between Preference for Intuition and Deliberation in Eating Decision-making (E-PID) and subjective and objective health-related parameters using a newly developed scale. Design. Study 1: online survey; Study 2: cross-sectional community cohort sample. Methods. Study 1 (N = 699) assessed E-PID, intuitive, restrained, and external eating, motivation to eat healthily, domain-unspecific Preference for Intuition and Deliberation, and general self-control. Study 2 (N = 1,212) assessed E-PID, positive eating, intention to eat healthily, eating behaviour, and objective health risk factors (BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides). Results. Study 1 confirmed a two-factor structure and provided evidence for construct validity: A higher preference for intuition was positively related to intuitive eating, while a higher preference for deliberation was associated with increased dietary restraint. In Study 2, preference for deliberation was positively related to the intention to eat healthy, healthy eating behaviour, and health parameters. Preference for intuition was generally unrelated to health parameters, although a higher preference for intuition was related to a somewhat unhealthier eating pattern. Conclusions. Preference for intuition and deliberation when making food choices are two distinct decision-making styles: The former focuses on internal cues, while the latter focuses on cognitive regulation of food intake. Despite these differences, neither decision-making style was shown to be detrimental. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Do nutrition knowledge, food preferences, and habit strength moderate the association between preference for intuition and deliberation in eating decision‐making and dietary intake?

“…In a similar vein, the E-PID assesses eating decision-making as a trait-like preference that people have, whereas there might also be state-like situation-specific decision-making styles. Although previous research confirmed the notion of decision-making style preferences being rather traits than states (Richetin et al, 2007), at least some people might be able to switch flexibly between the styles, as indicated by some people scoring high on both subscales (Betsch, 2004) (see also König, Sproesser, et al, 2021 for a discussion). Future research therefore needs to examine whether and, if so, under which conditions, situational cues interact with stable interindividual differences in tendencies towards these behaviors to lead to the use of certain decision-making styles.…”

“…With regard to the preference for deliberation in eating decision-making, people might not only deliberate on healthy eating, but also on other topics such as price (cf., Renner et al, 2012). However, previous research has shown a considerable relationship between E-PD and choosing food for health reasons (König, Sproesser, et al, 2021), underlines that health concerns play an important role when deliberately deciding to eat. Regarding the preference for intuition in eating decision-making, consuming healthier foods in response to physiological feelings of hunger seems preferable from a purely physical health perspective.…”

“…Preference for intuition and deliberation in eating decision-making Preference for an intuitive or deliberate style in eating decision-making (E-PID; König et al, 2018;König, Sproesser, et al, 2021) was measured with seven items. Preference for intuition was measured with three items (e.g., "When deciding what to eat, I rely on my gut feeling").…”

Investigation of Ukrainian refugees’ eating behavior, food intake, and psychological distress: study protocol and baseline data

“…Participants' preference for intuition and deliberation in eating decision-making (E-PID; König et al, 2018König et al, , 2021) was assessed as a potential effect modifier. The measure consists of two subscales: preference for intuition (3 items) and preference for deliberation (4 items).…”

“…To date, the question whether self-control-focused or intuitive strategies are most beneficial in promoting healthy eating has mainly been studied in healthy, young samples (e.g., König et al, 2021;Sproesser et al, 2022). We aim to extend this research by comparing the effects of the two strategies for dealing with changes in appetite due to ASD and PTSD on perceived stress, psychological and physical well-being, and diet quality in a real-life setting in Ukranian refugees.…”