Validation and Gender-Based Comparison of the Eating Behavior Scale for Japanese Young Adults

Abstract

Young adulthood is a time when eating behaviors can become disturbed. In general, women want to lose weight, and men want to gain weight in the form of muscle. A convenient tool to assess characteristics of eating behavior in young adulthood is needed in order to promote a healthy diet. The first aim of this study was to develop an eating behavior scale for Japanese young adults (EBS). The secondary aim was to compare eating behaviors between men and women. The EBS was modified from a questionnaire directed at high school students by Tayama and colleagues (Tayama, Watanabe, Nishimura, Murakami, & Fukudo, 2008). The participants of this study were 794 Japanese young adults (404 men and 390 women) enrolled at three universities and two vocational schools in Japan. They were recruited in the classroom and were asked to submit the completed EBS questionnaire if they agreed to participate. We assessed the validity of the EBS and compared factors between men and women. Three subscales were extracted from the EBS: “Extrinsic eating” (e.g., eating when others eat or when feeling irritated), “Eating quickly” (e.g., eating quickly or not chewing food well), and “Strong taste” (e.g., liking strong-tasting or greasy food). Overall EBS score and “Extrinsic eating” were higher, and “Strong taste” was lower, in women than that in men. The findings indicate that the EBS is suitable as a simple tool to assess properties of eating behavior of healthy Japanese young adults.