INTRODUCTION:

The difficulty in maintaining weight lost and the consequent weight cycling is related to eating behavior. In contrast to eating restraint, intuitive and mindful eating and eating self-efficacy seem to improve adaptative and favorable to the weight management eating attitudes.

OBJECTIVES:

To relate eating behavior dimensions (rigid and flexible control, intuitive eating, mindful eating and eating self-efficacy) with weight variation.

METHODOLOGY:

We studied a convenience sample composed of 252 Portuguese adults (71.8% females) with a mean age of 37 years (SD = 12) and mean BMI of 24.5 kg/m2 (SD = 4.6). Anthropometric data (height, current weight and weight variation in the last year) were self-reported. The weight variation was classified as: "stable weight", "weight loss", "weight gain" and "cyclic weight". To study eating behavior the Subcales of Flexible and Rigid Control of Eating Behavior, the Intuitive Eating Scale, the Mindful Eating Questionnaire and the Global Eating Self-efficacy Scale were applied.

RESULTS:

Both rigid and flexible control were higher among females with “cyclic weight” variation. On the other hand, and for both sexes, the score in some subscales of intuitive eating were higher among participants with “weight stability” when compared to those with “weight gain”. Among males, the “weight gain” and “cyclic weight” groups had lower level of intuitive eating than the “stable weight” group. Higher eating self-efficacy was observed in the “weight loss” group compared to the “weight gain” group.

CONCLUSIONS:

Longitudinal research can clarify and deepen the direction of the relationships found. Nevertheless, this research highlights the implication of behavioral strategies based on the principles studied aimed at weight management.

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