Food overconsumption: Concept and its measurement

Abstract

Food overconsumption has serious and far‐reaching effects on people, including obesity, negative health outcomes, reduced life expectancy, and financial hardship. Attempts to understand the underlying factors that contribute to food overconsumption are undermined by a lack of clarity about the concept of food overconsumption. This study reports the development of a scale to measure the extent to which individuals engage in food overconsumption (FOC). The FOC scale predicts many outcomes associated with excessive eating. The development of the scale, including item generation, scale refinement, and establishment of its reliability are first reported. This is followed by analyses showing that the FOC is distinct from clinical conditions associated with various eating disorders and measured using well‐established scales (e.g., power‐of‐food scale, three‐factor eating questionnaire, and Dutch eating behavior questionnaire). Based on multiple studies, additional analysis is reported showing that the FOC scale is a reliable and valid measure that can be used to measure food overconsumption. Implications of these findings are also discussed.