OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed and discussed how cognitive restraint, emotional eating and bingeing behaviors interrelate and relate with the anthropometric parameters BMI and waist circumference. METHODS: The short version of The Three Factor Eating Questionnaire consisting of 21 items was translated into Portuguese, administered to 125 female employees from the Central Unit of the Universidade de São Paulo School of Medicine Clinics Hospital and compared with the anthropometric data of these women who had been casually selected from a group of 800 individuals interested in nutrition counseling. RESULTS: Emotional eating was found to be associated with bingeing, body mass index and waist circumference. CONCLUSION: The short version of The Three Factor Eating Questionnaire with 21 items proved to effectively identify cognitive restraint, emotional eating and bingeing behaviors. Analysis of these behavior patterns can be the starting point for the implementation of strategies for approaching nutrition counseling in weight-control programs.
Feeding behavior; Hyperphogia; Nutritional status
