A questionnaire to measure eating behavior in the absence of hunger and its association with childhood obesity

Background: It has been observed that some psychological factors tend to stimulate food intake in the absence of hunger in obese children. Objective: To evaluate whether obese children have a greater tendency to eat in the absence of hunger, in response to various emotional and environmental factors versus normal weight children. Subjects and Methods: Obese patients were selected according to NCHS/CDC2000 (n = 49 and n = 99 for nonobese children), males and females in the age group of 6-12 years who consulted in the UC health network and also children that were evaluated in schools located in southeastern Santiago. The questionnaire "Eating in the absence of hunger" was used, which measures three subscales: external stimuli, fatigue/boredom and negative feelings. Results: Factor analysis showed a significant degree of overlap between the "fatigue/boredom" and "negative feelings" subscales. Obese children had higher scores on "external stimuli" versus normal weight children (median 2.7 compared to 1.7, p < 0.001). In the "fatigue/boredom" subscale, scores of 2.5 versus 1.2 (p <0.001) were obtained, while in "negative feelings", scores reported 2.0 versus 1.2 (p = 0.0013). Conclusions: Obese patients reported higher scores on the questionnaire "Eating in the absence of hunger" than non-obese children, identifying modifiable and educable stimuli that could prevent this eating behavior.