Eating behaviors and weight over time in a prospective study: the Healthy Twin Study

Abstract

We examined the relationships of combined initial restrained and external/emotional eating with initial BMI and change in weight and these subscales over time. BMI and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire were twice-measured in 1361 Korean twins and families (482 men, 879 women) over a period of 2.7+/-0.9 years. Subjects were classified by combination of initial sex-specific restrained and external (or emotional) eating tertiles. Linear mixed models were performed after adjusting for confounders at baseline (household, sibling relations, sex, age, education level, smoking, alcohol use, energy intake, physical activity, and medical history). In adjusted models, initial BMI increased with increasing tertiles of initial restrained eating across initial external/emotional eating tertiles. Weight was less likely to increase over time with increasing tertiles of initial restrained eating in the lowest external eating tertile and middle tertile of emotional eating at baseline. Subscale scores decreased over time with increasing tertiles of corresponding subscales at baseline. These findings suggest that high dietary restraint and external/emotional eating may indicate concurrent high BMI and attenuated weight gain and decreases in corresponding subscales over time.