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A study based on data from nearly 9,000 people in northern Finland shows that eating behavior varies with age and differs between sexes and BMI categories. The findings suggest that there is no single threshold that can be used to define abnormal eating behavior for everyone.

The study examined three aspects of eating behavior: cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating.

Uncontrolled and emotional eating were more pronounced among younger adults, whereas cognitive restraint was more common among older adults.

There were also clear differences between the sexes. On average, women reported higher levels of both cognitive restraint and emotional eating than men. No comparable sex difference was observed in uncontrolled eating.

As BMI increased, uncontrolled and emotional eating were, on average, more common. The association between cognitive restraint and body weight was more complex: restraint increased with BMI, but a slight decrease was observed among women with the most severe levels of obesity.

According to the researchers, these findings are particularly important because questionnaires measuring eating behavior are used in weight management and obesity treatment. The study is published in the journal Appetite.

The study established, for the first time, age- and sex-specific reference values for the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18) for the Finnish population. The self-administered questionnaire scores different aspects of eating behavior on a scale from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the more pronounced the particular eating behavior.

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