Seven Eating Styles Linked to Overeating, Overweight, and Obesity

Objective

To broaden the perspective on the causes of overeating, overweight, and obesity and provide cross-cultural, comprehensive treatment approaches.

Background

Through food-related research into the world’s wisdom traditions, cultural traditions, Eastern healing systems, and Western nutritional science, the authors present recurrent themes derived from ways in which cultures regarded, experienced, prepared, and shared food for millennia.

Design

An 80-item questionnaire, designed to measure food, nutrition, and eating themes was administered to 5,256 participants who registered for a Web-based integrative nutrition e-course. When the 80-items were factor analyzed separately in two randomly split halves of the sample as well as within age and sex categories, seven coherent and consistent factors or eating styles emerged. These eating styles were entered into a multiple regression analysis to predict overeating frequency and body mass index (BMI).

Results

Each of the newly identified eating styles was independently related to self-reports of overeating frequency; five of the seven were significantly related to overweight and obesity. The eating styles include the following: (1) “Emotional Eating” (eating to manage feelings); (2) “Fresh Food, Fast Food” (eating mostly processed, high-calorie food; less fresh food); (3) “Food Fretting” (judgmental thoughts and overconcern about food); (4) “Task Snacking” (eating while doing other activities); (5) “Sensory, Spiritual Nourishment” (“flavoring” food with meaning); (6) “Eating Atmosphere” (dining aesthetics and surroundings); (7) “Social Fare” (eating alone vs with others).

Conclusions

Further research is needed to assess the degree to which practicing and implementing these eating styles integratively will decrease overeating, overweight, and obesity.

Key words:  Integrative nutrition , eating styles , diet , obesity , overeating , overweight , emotional eating , task snacking