Differences in Food Susceptibility Between High and Low Intuitive Eaters

Abstract

Objectives Intuitive eating (IE) is a pattern of adaptive eating behaviors that consists of four facets: Unconditional Permission to Eat (PERM), Eating for Physical Rather than Emotional Reasons (PHYS), Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues (REL), and Body-Food Choice Congruence (CON). The objective of this study was to observe differences in self-reported susceptibility to highly palatable foods between individuals high and low in intuitive eating. Methods 66 adults (70% female; 77% white; age 46 ± 12; BMI 36.3 ± 6.5 kg/m2) with overweight/obesity enrolled in a behavioral weight loss trial participated in the study. Measures were collected at baseline assessments or at the initial treatment session via self-report scales. Intuitive eating was measured with the Intuitive Eating Scale-2, which includes a total score and four subscale scores: PERM, CON, REL, and PHYS. Food susceptibility was measured with the Power of Food Scale. BMI was objectively measured and calculated as kg/m2. Covariates included age, sex, race, education, and BMI. Individuals were grouped as high IE (≥75th percentile) and low IE (≤25th percentile) for total and subscale scores. Data were analyzed with Analyses of Covariance. Results Overall, high IE individuals displayed less food susceptibility (M = 40.1 ± 12.3) – as observed by lower PFS scores – than low IE individuals (M = 66.1 ± 13.7, F(1,31) = 30.56, P < .001). This pattern was true for three of the four IE subscales: PHYS; Eating for Physical vs. Emotional Reasons (F(1,31) = 7.878, P = .009), REL; Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues (F(1,39) = 22.99, P