Author:

Keywords:

Social Sciences, Psychology, Clinical, Psychology, assessment, children, eating styles, emotional eating, weight, BEHAVIOR QUESTIONNAIRE DEBQ, DISORDER EXAMINATION, ANOREXIA-NERVOSA, SWEDISH GIRLS, SELF-REPORT, BODY-IMAGE, OBESITY, CHILDREN, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, INTERVIEW, Adolescent, Anthropometry, Body Weight, Child, Energy Intake, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Obesity, Overweight, Prevalence, Surveys and Questionnaires, 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1701 Psychology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, Public Health, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, 5203 Clinical and health psychology

Abstract:

Differences in eating styles between overweight and normal-weight youngsters were investigated with a child version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). Subjects were children (n = 1458; M: 10.1; SD = 1.3) and adolescents (n = 1016; M: 14.9; SD = 1.5). Overweight adolescent girls scored high on emotional eating while overweight adolescent boys displayed more external eating. In overweight children, already 10.5 per cent displayed emotional eating and 38.4 per cent reported external eating. All overweight youngsters reported restrained attitudes. Eating styles were positively associated with indicators of eating pathology. The results suggest the use of appropriate norms that take into account the child's age, gender and overweight status.