Measuring appetitive traits in adults. What do we know about their relationships to weight.

By Claudia Hunot, Alison Fildes and Rebecca Beeken.
Some people are more likely to put on weight than others, and may find it harder to lose weight. One of the ways in which people differ is in how they respond to food; their ‘appetitive traits’. For example, how full you tend to feel after a meal, how much you want to eat when you see or smell delicious foods, or how fast you eat. These traits are partly influenced by genes, and they explain individual differences in the way we all eat. In the present-day food-filled environment people who are more responsive to food cues (want to eat when they see or smell delicious food), and less sensitive to satiety (take longer to feel full) are more susceptible to over-eat and gain weight.

For a number of years, appetitive traits have been measured in children using the ‘Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire’ (CEBQ) and more recently in infancy using the ‘Baby Eating Behaviour Questionnaire’ (BEBQ). These questionnaires measure a number of appetitive traits that can be grouped into two broad categories: food approach and food avoidance traits. Food approach traits, such as ‘food responsiveness’, are associated with a larger appetite or greater interest in food, while food avoidance traits such as ‘satiety responsiveness’ are associated with a smaller appetite and/or a lower interest in food. Research has shown higher scores on food approach traits and lower scores on food avoidance traits are associated with increased weight and weight gain. However, so far most of this research has been carried out in children. Until now no matched questionnaire existed for measuring the same appetitive traits in adults.

Therefore, in our latest study we developed the ‘Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire’ (AEBQ) to measure these appetitive traits in adults. We also wanted to explore whether these traits relate to adult weight, as they do in children. Adult samples were recruited at two time points, one-year apart, from an on-line survey panel. Participants completed the AEBQ and provided their weight and height measurements to calculate BMI. Data from a total of 1662 adults was analysed and showed the 35 item AEBQ to be a reliable questionnaire measuring 8 appetitive traits similar to the CEBQ.

We also showed that food approach traits such as ‘food responsiveness’, ‘emotional over-eating’ and ‘enjoyment of food’ were positively associated with BMI. This means people with higher scores for these traits were heavier on average. While food avoidance traits including ‘satiety responsiveness’, ‘emotional under-eating’ and ‘slowness in eating’ were negatively associated with BMI. This means people with higher scores for these traits were lighter on average.

These findings suggest appetitive traits are likely to be important for weight across the life course. The newly developed AEBQ is a reliable instrument, which together with the BEBQ and the CEBQ, could be used to track weight-related appetitive traits from infancy into adulthood. The AEBQ may also help to identify individuals at risk of weight gain and could inform targeted interventions tailored to help people manage their appetitive traits, and in turn control their weight.

Article link:
Hunot, C., Fildes, A., Croker, H., Llewellyn, C. H., Wardle, J., & Beeken, R. J. (2016). Appetitive traits and relationships with BMI in adults: Development of the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Appetite. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.05.024
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