Weight Attitudes Predict Eating Competence among College Students

Abstract

Eating competence (EC) includes diet quality, eating attitudes, food acceptance, internal regulation, and skills such as meal planning and preparation. The purpose of this research was to determine which factors were more predictive of EC in college students: their body mass index (BMI) or attitude about their weight. A convenience sample of 1,720 students from a large state university completed an Internet survey that included the validated Eating Competence Satter Inventory (ecSI). A multiple regression showed that weight satisfaction and desire to lose weight were better predictors of EC than BMI. These results suggest that interventions to increase EC and overall health and well‐being among college students should aim to improve body image and size acceptance.

Eating Competence Is Associated with Lower Prevalence of Obesity and Better Insulin Sensitivity in Finnish Adults with Increased Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: The StopDia Study

“…Measuring waist circumference particularly indicates abdominal obesity, and waist circumference may be even a better predictor of type 2 diabetes risk than BMI [38]. Our results are well in line with previous publications that have reported an inverse association of eating competence with BMI in most [6,7,12,13,15,39], although not in all studies [9,10]. In a previous one-year weight loss intervention, eating competence increased as BMI decreased among obese individuals [12].…”

Eating Competence Associated with Food Consumption and Health Outcomes among Brazilian Adult Population

“…It is well in line with the definition of internal regulation proposed by the ecSatter model [ 1 , 16 ]. Body weight dissatisfaction is predictive of poor EC, not only because individuals who are dissatisfied with their body weight have negative attitudes about food and eating, but they may also be less likely to try new foods and plan and prepare regular meals for themselves [ 9 ]. A lack of the internal regulation component is linked to the inability to identify the sensations related to hunger and satiety and the presence of bulimic thoughts and feelings of uncontrolled hunger [ 6 ].…”

“…Diet quality and health are associated with EC, as many studies show that individuals considered competent eaters tend to present higher diet quality [ 2 , 3 ] and healthier eating behaviors [ 4 , 5 ]. Competent eaters also show less disordered emotional and uncontrolled eating, greater weight satisfaction [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], and better sleep quality [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Furthermore, competent eaters are physically more active [ 13 ], have lower blood pressure and dyslipidemia [ 14 ], less overweight/obesity [ 6 , 7 ], and have more positive attitudes and behaviors toward food and eating [ 9 , 15 ].…”

About Eating: An Online Program With Evidence of Increased Food Resource Management Skills for Low-Income Women

“…1 Eating competence is associated with greater dietary quality, 2,3 reduced cardiovascular risk, 3,4 increased physical activity, 5 fewer symptoms of disordered eating, including weight satisfaction and normal body mass index, [6][7][8][9] better sleep quality, 10 and parent modeling healthful eating behaviors. 11 Satter offered descriptions of ecSatter-driven nutrition education and guidance for adoption, 12 and nutrition education programs congruent with ecSatter have been suggested.…”