Questionnaire and laboratory measures of eating behavior: Associations with energy intake and BMI in a community sample of working adults

Purpose: The present research compared a self-report measure of usual eating behaviors with two laboratory-based behavioral measures of food reward and food preference. Methods: Eating behaviors were measured among 233 working adults. A self-report measure was the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) Restraint, Disinhibition and Hunger subscales. Laboratory measures were the (RVF) and Explicit Liking (EL) and Implicit Wanting (IW) for high fat food. Outcome measures were body mass index (BMI), and energy intake measured using three 24-h dietary recalls. Results: Significant bivariate associations were observed between each of the eating behavior measures and energy intake, but only Disinhibition and Hunger were associated with BMI. Multiple regression results showed RVF and EL and IW predicted energy intake independent of the TFEQ scales but did not predict BMI. Conclusion: Laboratory and self-report measures capture unique aspects of individual differences in eating behaviors that are associated with energy intake.