Skip to main content

Relationship of eating behavior to long-term weight change and body mass index: The Healthy Twin study

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity volume 14, pages e98–e105 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

This study examined the relationships of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) subscales with weight change and with current body mass index (BMI). A total of 1576 adult twins and their families (578 Korean men, 998 Korean women, age 44.5±12.9 years) participating in the Healthy Twin study completed a survey that included the DEBQ, self-reported weight at 20 years old and intentionally lost weight over the past 4 years. Their anthropometric measurements were taken. Using the general linear models, restrained eating was positively associated with weight gain from 20 years old to current age [beta (B) =1.01, standard error (SE)=0.27, p<0.001], and with current BMI (B=0.33, SE=0.09, p<0.001) after adjusting for demographics, health-related behaviors, energy intake, and emotional and external eating. Likewise, emotional eating was positively associated with weight gain (B=0.83, SE=0.28, p<0.001), and with current BMI (B=0.35, SE=0.10, p=0.003) after adjusting those factors, and restrained and external eating. However, external eating was not associated with both outcomes. In conclusion, high restrained eating or emotional eating may be indicators for long-term weight gain and high BMI in Korean twins and their families.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. Van Strien T., Frijters J.E.R., Bergers G.P.A., Defares P.B.: The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) for assessment of restrained, emotional, and external eating behavior. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 5, 295–315, 1986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Steinle N.I., Hsueh W.C., Snitker S., Pollin T.I., Sakul H., St Jean P.L., Bell C.J., Mitchell B.D., Shuldiner A.R.: Eating behavior in the Old Order Amish: heritability analysis and a genome-wide linkage analysis. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 75, 1098–1106, 2002.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Keski-Rahkonen A., Bulik C.M., Pietiläinen K.H., Rose R.J., Kaprio J., Rissanen A.: Eating styles, overweight and obesity in young adult twins. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., 61, 822–829, 2007.

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Hays N.P., Bathalon G.P., McCrory M.A., Roubenoff R., Lipman R., Roberts S.B.: Eating behavior correlates of adult weight gain and obesity in healthy women aged 55–65 y. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 75, 476–483, 2002.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Provencher V., Drapeau V., Tremblay A., Després J.P., Lemieux S.: Eating behaviors and indexes of body composition in men and women from the Québec family study. Obes. Res., 11, 783–792, 2003.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Tholin S., Rasmussen F., Tynelius P., Karlsson J.: Genetic and environmental influences on eating behavior: The Swedish Young Male Twins study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 81, 564–569, 2005.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. de Lauzon-Guillain B., Basdevant A., Romon M., Karlsson J., Borys J.M., Charles M.A.; FLVS Study Group: Is restrained eating a risk factor for weight gain in a general population? Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 83, 132–138, 2006.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Foster G.D., Wadden T.A., Swain R.M., Stunkard A.J., Platte P., Vogt R.A.: The eating inventory in obese women: Clinical correlates and relationship to weight loss. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord., 22, 778–785, 1998.

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Masheb R.M., Grilo C.M.: On the relation of attempting to lose weight, restraint, and binge eating in outpatients with binge eating disorder. Obes. Res., 8, 638–645, 2000.

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kräuchi K., Reich S., Wirz-Justice A.: Eating style in seasonal affective disorder: who will gain weight in winter?. Compr. Psychiatry, 38, 80–87, 1997.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Van Strien T., Van de Laar F.A., Van Leeuwe J.F.J., Lucassen P.L.B.J, Van den Hoogen H.J.M., Rutten G.E.H.M., Van Weel C.: The dieting dilemma in patients with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes: does dietary restraint predict weight gain 4 years after diagnosis?. Health Psychol., 26, 105–112, 2007.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Larsen J.K., van Strien T., Eisinga R., Herman C.P., Engels R.C.: Dietary restraint: intention versus behavior to restrict food intake. Appetite, 49, 100–108, 2007.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Sung J., Cho S., Lee K., Ha M., Choi E., Choi J., Kim H., Kim Y., Yoo K., Park C., Song Y.: Healthy Twin: A twinfamily study of Korea — Protocols and current status. Twin Res. Hum. Genet., 9, 844–848, 2006.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Boffetta P., Agudo A., Ahrens W., Benhamou E., Benhamou S., Darby S.: Multicenter case-control study of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and lung cancer in Europe. J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 90, 1440–1450, 1998.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Ahn Y., Lee J.E., Cho N.H., Shin C., Park C., Oh B.S., Kim K.: Validation and calibration of semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire: with participants of the Korean Health and Genome study. Korean J. Community Nutr., 9, 173–182, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kim H., Lee I., Kim J.: A study of the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 15, 141–150, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  17. National Institute of Health. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: The evidence report. Bethesda, MD, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Cepeda-Benito A., Fernandez M.C., Moreno S.: Relationship of gender and eating disorder symptoms to reported cravings for food: construct validation of state and trait craving questionnaires in Spanish. Appetite, 40, 47–54, 2003.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hill A.J.: The psychology of food craving. Proc. Nutr. Soc., 66, 277–285, 2007.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lowe M.R.: Dietary restraint and overeating. In: Fairburn C.G., Brownell K.D. (Eds.), Eating disorders and obesity. 2nd Ed. New York, Guilford Press, 2002, pp. 88–92.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Waller G.: The psychology of binge eating. In: Fairburn C.G., Brownell K.D. (Eds.), Eating disorders and obesity. 2nd Ed. New York, Guilford Press, 2002, pp. 98–102.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Burton P., Smit H.J., Lightowler H.J.: The influence of restrained and external eating patterns on overeating. Appetite, 49, 191–197, 2007.

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Perry G.S., Byers T.E., Mokdad A.H., Serdula M.K., Williamson D.F.: The validity of self-reports of past body weights by U.S. adults. Epidemiology, 6, 61–66, 1995.

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Tamakoshi K., Yatsuya H., Kondo T., Hirano T., Hori Y., Yoshida T., Toyoshima H.: The accuracy of longterm recall of past body weight in Japanese adult men. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord., 27, 247–252, 2003.

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Seoul National University School of Public Health, Seoul, Korea

    J. Sung

  2. Department of Family Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, 633-165 Kaegum-dong, Busan Jin-Gu, Busan, South Korea

    K. Lee

  3. Department of Family Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Y.-M. Song

Authors
  1. J. Sung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Y.-M. Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Lee.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sung, J., Lee, K. & Song, YM. Relationship of eating behavior to long-term weight change and body mass index: The Healthy Twin study. Eat Weight Disord 14, e98–e105 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327806

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327806

Key words

  • Dietary restraint
  • emotional eating
  • weight change
  • intentional weight loss