Eating behavior tendencies among Finnish adults in relation to previous weight loss attempts.

BACKGROUND: The number of weight loss attempts may be associated with higher weight status and unfavorable health behaviors as well as dysfunctional eating behaviors. We aimed to study eating behavior tendencies, i.e., cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating among a sample of Finnish adults who had engaged in a different number of attempts to lose weight during their lifetime. METHODS: Data were collected through a web-based survey. Participants completed a background questionnaire (including questions on weight, height, number of attempts to lose weight) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18). Out of 1985 individuals, 1679 with complete data were included in the study. The TFEQ-R18 was tested for its reliability and fit to our study population using Cronbach's alpha and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). RESULTS: Subscales of the TFEQ-R18 had acceptable reliability except for that of 'cognitive restraint', which reached acceptable reliability when three items were deleted (items 15, 16, 18). The revised version of the questionnaire was designated as the TFEQ-R15, which showed good fit based on CFA fit indices. Participants who had attempted to lose weight during their lifetime (n = 1229), especially those with ≥3 weight loss attempts (n = 499), had greater cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and higher body mass index (BMI) than those with no previous weight loss attempts (n = 132). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that eating behavior tendencies, i.e., decreasing tendencies of uncontrolled and emotional eating should receive more emphasis to support successful weight management.

Effect of metabolic state on implicit and explicit responses to food in young healthy females.

Recent neuroscience research has delineated key psychological components of reward: wanting, liking and learning. Each component is further divided into explicit and implicit processes. While explicit processes are consciously experienced, implicit processes are not always directly accessible to conscious inspection. In the present study, we investigated the effect of metabolic state on implicit and explicit responses and their relationship in food context, especially when foods and visually matched non-food items are contrasted, and when foods in a sole food context but differing in energy content (high-energy - low-energy) or taste (sweet - savoury) were contrasted. Sixty healthy non-obese females participated in the study in fasted and fed states. Three Implicit Association Tests were used to assess implicit associations. Explicit liking and wanting ratings were assessed by visual analogue scales. In the implicit food-non-food context, food was preferred over non-food items both in fasted and fed states, though the strength of implicit associations declined significantly from fasted to fed state. However, the direction or strength of implicit associations was not significantly different between the metabolic states when comparing concepts within food context only, differing in energy content or taste. Instead, explicit responses reflected the change in the metabolic state in a manner consistent with alliesthesia and sensory-specific satiety. The results of the present study suggest that implicit associations are relatively resistant to acute change in the metabolic condition compared to explicit ratings, which shift more readily according to the fasted-fed continuum. The shift in the prevailing metabolic state was, however, reflected in the strength of implicit responses towards food in relation to non-food items, yet in the sole food contexts implicit associations were comparable between the fasted and fed states.

Metabolic state as a modulator of neural event-related potentials for food stimuli in an implicit association test.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) has become a ubiquitous measure of implicit associations or preferences in several fields of research, including research related to food choices. The neural dynamics of the IAT have been explored in several contexts, but in a food-related IAT with stimuli of natural motivational value they are yet to be studied. Additionally, the effect of metabolic state on them is poorly known. The present study examined the event-related potentials (ERP) in healthy non-obese females (n = 32) while they performed a food-related IAT in two sessions, in a fasted state and after a meal. The results showed differences in the ERP components N400, P3 and LPP by congruence categories. Additionally, the individual N400 and LPP deflections correlated strongly with individual IAT effects. ERP deflections were weaker in the fasted state than after the meal despite greater implicit hedonic motivation towards food in the fasted state. In conclusion, the results suggest that ERPs reflect the IAT effect. The N400, P3 and LPP components were evoked in a food-related IAT in a similar way observed in IAT tests in other contexts, reflecting a difference in meaning and motivation between congruence categories. The strong correlations of individual IAT effect with individual N400 and LPP deflections further suggests that the food-related IAT effect strength reflects the size of implicit food bias seen in neural deflections. Moreover, fasting increased implicit hedonic motivation towards food, but likely reduced cognitive resources at the same time. This could have made it harder to determine the value of novel, task-relevant stimuli, whereas it became easier postprandially and with practice.

Motivators, barriers and strategies of weight management: A cross-sectional study among Finnish adults.

BACKGROUND: Weight management (WM) is an ongoing global challenge. The purpose of this study was to analyze motivators, barriers, and strategies of WM among Finnish adults. METHODS: Data were collected in the 'KULUMA' (Consumers at the Weight Management Market) project among 667 community-dwelling adults in Eastern and Central Finland (Kuopio and Jyväskylä). The self-reported questionnaire collected background information and responses to motivators, barriers, and strategy items. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract components of motivators, barriers, and strategies of WM, along with K-means clustering to categorize the participants. RESULTS: About 55% of the respondents were aiming to lose weight. The PCA resulted in a 3-component model for motivators (functional aspects, sociological aspects, and psychosocial aspects), a 4-component model for barriers (life situations, food environment, personal issues, and resources) and a 2-component model for the strategies of WM (dietary strategies and life-management strategies). The components had several relationships with demographic characteristics (especially with age) but only a few with weight-related characteristics (e.g. weight loss attempts). Three clusters of participants were formed: Struggling weight managers (WMs), Independent WMs, and Determined WMs. Barriers to WM had a key role in differentiating clusters and weight satisfaction. Determined WMs were the most satisfied with their weight, whereas Struggling WMs perceived the highest level of barriers to WM. CONCLUSIONS: WM efforts are common among Finnish adults. Generally, weight-related activities and communication in society should focus more on barriers than merely on the motivation or strategies of WM in order to support individuals' WM efforts.

Flexibility in weight management.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between changes in flexible vs. rigid restraints of eating during weight management, as well as how changes in the cognitive restraint of eating were related to psychological well-being and flexibility. The data includes information on 49 overweight persons who participated in a weight loss and maintenance (WLM) intervention and a follow-up assessment after 8-9 months. An increase in flexible cognitive restraint during the weight loss intervention was related to better weight loss maintenance and well-being. The more flexible restraint increased during the WLM intervention, the more psychological distress decreased. Moreover, larger reduction of rigid restraint during the follow-up period (between the WLM intervention and the follow-up assessment) was related to a better maintenance of improved psychological well-being at the follow-up endpoint. These results suggest that increasing flexible control while reducing rigid control of eating after an active weight loss phase improves success in weight management and the psychological well-being of weight losers.

Real-life setting in data collection. The role of nutrition knowledge whilst selecting food products for weight management purposes in a supermarket environment.

The aim was to explore the role of consumers' nutrition knowledge while selecting foods for weight management and the predominating food selection factors by combining quantitative and qualitative methodology in a real-life setting during two consecutive shopping tasks given in a supermarket. Thirty-six consumers were given a list of 11 products and asked to think-aloud while selecting (i) a product they usually buy and (ii) a product they use for weight management. After the consecutive shopping tasks, the subjects were interviewed and asked to answer a nutrition knowledge questionnaire. The subjects were categorized by the difference in the energy contents of their selections and the food selection criteria. The energy contents of the selections for weight management were reduced by 10-46%. Ten subjects with the greatest difference between the energy contents of their selections had higher level in nutrition knowledge and mentioned less nutritional issues during the selections than ten subjects with the smallest such differences. Taste was an important product selection criterion by the former group, while the latter focused primarily on price. Nutrition knowledge is interrelated with personal factors and selection goals. It is not necessarily utilized consistently when selecting food products.

Psychobehavioural factors are more strongly associated with successful weight management than predetermined satiety effect or other characteristics of diet.

This study aimed to investigate factors associated with weight management, especially whether satiety value of food as a part of a weight-maintenance diet would affect self-regulation of food intake and weight management. Altogether 82 obese subjects completed the study consisting of weight-loss and weight-maintenance (WM) periods. During the WM, subjects were randomized into higher- and lower-satiety food groups. No differences were observed in the changes in body weight, energy intake, or eating behaviour between the groups, even despite the different macronutrient compositions of the diets. However, when regarding all study subjects, success in WM was most strongly associated with a greater increase in the flexible control of eating and experience of greater easiness of WM and control of food intake and a greater decrease in uncontrollable eating and psychological distress. Psychobehavioural factors seem to be more strongly associated with successful weight management than the predetermined satiety effect or other characteristics of the diet.

Volatile compounds of selected strawberry varieties analyzed by purge-and-trap headspace GC-MS.

Six strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) varieties, Senga Sengana, Jonsok, Polka, Korona, Bounty, and Honeoye, were studied in relation to composition of their volatile headspace compounds collected by dynamic purge-and-trap concentration. Also, the influence of cultivation technique on the volatile compounds was tested by comparing conventionally and organically cultivated strawberry varieties. In addition, the effect of geographical origin on strawberry volatiles was investigated. The emphasis of this study was lay in the industrial utilization of strawberry. A total of 52 different volatile compounds were determined from frozen strawberries grown in 1997 and 1998. In addition to individual compounds, total areas of chromatogram profiles were compared. The major esters were found to be methyl butanoate, ethyl butanoate, methyl hexanoate, and ethyl hexanoate. With the application of principal component analysis and analysis of variance to the data matrix, the varieties were classified into three groups. Var. Honeoye was most different from the others. Organic cultivation had no effect on strawberry volatiles.