Validation of a questionnaire on emotional eating for use in cases of obesity: the Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ).

INTRODUCTION: Emotions have a powerful effect on our choice of food and eating habits. It has been found that in some people there is relationship between eating, emotions and the increased energy intake. This relationship should be measurable to better understand how food is used to deal with certain mood states and how these emotions affect the effectiveness of weight loss programs. OBJECTIVE: To develop and analyze the psychometric characteristics of a questionnaire on emotional eating for obesity easy to apply in clinical practice. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A ten-item questionnaire called Emotional-Eater-Questionnaire (EEQ) was developed and administered to a total of 354 subjects (body mass index, 31 ± 5), aged 39 ± 12, who were subjected to a weight-reduction program. The questionnaire was specifically designed for obesity. Analysis of the internal structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and convergent validity with Mindful-Eater-Questionnaire (MEQ) were conducted. RESULTS: After principal components analysis, the questionnaire was classified in three different dimensions that explained 60% of the total variance: Disinhibition, Type-of-food and Guilt. Internal consistency showed that Cronbach's alpha was 0.773 for the "Dishinibition" subscale, 0.656 for the "Type of food" subscale and 0.612 for the "Guilt" subscale. The test-retest stability was r = 0.70. The data showed that the percentage of agreement between the EEQ and the MEQ was around 70% with a Kappa index of 0.40; P < 0.0001. CONCLUSION: We have presented a new questionnaire, which classifies individuals as a function of the relation between food intake and emotions. Such information will permit personalized treatments to be designed by drawing up early strategies from the very beginning of treatment programmes.

Validation of a questionnaire on emotional eating for use in cases of obesity; the Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ) / Validación de un cuestionario de comedores emocionales para uso en casos de obesidad; Cuestionario de Comedor Emocional (CCE)

Introduction: Emotions have a powerful effect on our choice of food and eating habits. It has been found that in some people there is relationship between eating, emotions and the increased energy intake. This relationship should be measurable to better understand how food is used to deal with certain mood states and how these emotions affect the effectiveness of weight loss programs. Objective: To develop and analyze the psychometric characteristics of a questionnaire on emotional eating for obesity easy to apply in clinical practice. Subjects and methods: A ten-item questionnaire called Emotional-Eater-Questionnaire (EEQ) was developed and administered to a total of 354 subjects (body mass index, 31 ± 5), aged 39 ± 12, who were subjected to a weight-reduction program. The questionnaire was specifically designed for obesity. Analysis of the internal structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and convergent validity with Mindful-Eater-Questionnaire (MEQ) were conducted. Results: After principal components analysis, the questionnaire was classified in three different dimensions that explained 60% of the total variance: Disinhibition, Type-of-food and Guilt. Internal consistency showed that Cronbach's alpha was 0.773 for the "Dishinibition" subscale, 0.656 for the "Type of food" subscale and 0.612 for the "Guilt" subscale. The test-retest stability was r = 0.70. The data showed that the percentage of agreement between the EEQ and the MEQ was around 70% with a Kappa index of 0.40; P < 0.0001. Conclusion: We have presented a new questionnaire, which classifies individuals as a function of the relation between food intake and emotions. Such information will permit personalised treatments to be designed by drawing up early strategies from the very beginning of treatment programmes (AU)

Introducción: Las emociones tienen un poderoso efecto sobre la elección de alimentos y los hábitos alimentarios. Existe una relación entre comer, emociones y el aumento del aporte calórico. Esta relación debería ser medible para comprender mejor cómo utilizamos los alimentos en determinados estados de ánimo y cómo las emociones afectan a la eficacia de los programas de pérdida de peso. Objetivo: Desarrollar y analizar las características psicométricas de un cuestionario para identificar la ingesta emocional en la obesidad de fácil aplicación en la práctica clínica. Material y métodos: Se ha desarrollado y administrado un cuestionario de diez ítems llamado Cuestionario-de-Comedor-Emocional (CCE) a un total de 354 sujetos (Índice de Masa Corporal: 31 ± 5), (Edad: 39 ± 12 años), pertenecientes a un programa de reducción de peso. Se llevó a cabo un análisis de la estructura interna del cuestionario, de la consistencia interna, la fiabilidad testretest y la validez convergente con el Mindful-Eater-Questionnaire (MEQ). Resultados: El análisis de componentes principales del cuestionario encontró tres dimensiones diferentes que explicaban el 60% de la varianza: desinhibición, tipo de alimento y culpa. La consistencia interna mostró que el alfa de Cronbach fue de 0,773 para la subescala "Desinhibición", 0,656 para "Tipo de alimentos" y 0,612 para "culpa". La estabilidad test-retest fue de r = 0,70. Los datos mostraron que el porcentaje de acuerdo entre el CCE y MEQ era del 70% con un índice Kappa de 0,40, P < 0,0001. Conclusión: Hemos presentado un nuevo cuestionario, que clasifica a los individuos en función de la relación entre la ingesta de alimentos y las emociones. Esta información permitirá el diseño de tratamientos personalizados desde el inicio para la obesidad (AU)

Psychometric properties of the Perception of Teasing Scale in a Spanish adolescent sample: POTS-S.

The present study examines the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Perception of Teasing Scale (POTS-S). Participants were 1559 adolescents. They completed a translated version of the POTS and versions validated in Spanish population of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory-2, and the Children's Eating Attitudes Test. The results showed that the POTS-S retains the original structure of two factors, weight and competency, with satisfactory fit indices. The POTS-S constitutes a shorter questionnaire than the original version; specifically, it consists of 9 items instead of 11. The POTS-S showed good internal consistency and satisfactory test-retest stability. The relationship between the weight subscale and the variables related to eating and weight were statistically significant. As regards the competency subscale, the correlations were all lower than those for the weight subscale, except in the case of the self-esteem variable. The POTS-S showed good psychometric properties, indicating its suitability as an instrument for assessing the perception of teasing in Spanish adolescents.