Abstract
Purpose
Contemporary research investigating obesity has focused on grazing (i.e., an uncontrolled and repetitive consumption of small amounts of food). Meanwhile, the association between grazing and motivations or actual consumption of energy-dense foods as explanatory factors has not been explored in current weight regulation research.
Methods
The association among grazing, motivations to eat palatable foods and fat and sugar consumption were explored in a cross-sectional study with university students (n = 318) who were recruited to participate in an online study.
Results
Results indicated that both motivations to eat palatable foods and fat and sugar consumption were positively related to grazing, but only motivations to eat palatable foods explained the positive relationship between grazing and current weight.
Conclusion
Motivations to eat palatable foods appears to be more explanatory of grazing in the sphere of weight regulation and grazing than the actual consumption of fat and sugar. Possible explanations and future directions are discussed.
Level V: Opinions of respected authorities, based on clinical experience, descriptive studies or reports of expert committees.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Attuquayefio T, Stevenson RJ, Boakes RA, Oaten MJ, Yeomans MR, Mahmut M, Francis HM (2016) A high-fat high-sugar diet predicts poorer hippocampal-related memory and a reduced ability to suppress wanting under satiety. J Exp Psychol Anim Learn Cogn 42(4):415. https://doi.org/10.1037/xan0000118
Boggiano MM, Wenger L, Turan B, Tatum M, Morgan P, Sylvester M (2015) Eating tasty food to cope. Longitudinal association with BMI. Appetite 87:365–370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.008
Boggiano MM (2016) Palatable eating motives scale in a college population: distribution of scores and scores associated with greater BMI and binge-eating. Eat Behav 21:95–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.01.001
Boggiano MM, Burgess E, Turan B, Soleymani T, Daniel S, Vinson L et al (2014) Motives for eating tasty foods associated with binge-eating. Results from a student and a weight-loss seeking population. Appetite 83:160–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.08.026
Burgess E, Turan B, Lokken KL, Morse A, Boggiano MM (2014) Profiling motives behind hedonic eating. Preliminary validation of the palatable eating motives scale. Appetite 72:66–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.09.016
Colles SL, Dixon JB, O’brien PE (2008) Grazing and loss of control related to eating: two high-risk factors following bariatric surgery. Obesity 16(3):615–622. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2007.101
Conceição EM, Mitchell JE, Engel SG, Machado PP, Lancaster K, Wonderlich SA (2014) What is “grazing”? Reviewing its definition, frequency, clinical characteristics, and impact on bariatric surgery outcomes, and proposing a standardized definition. Surg Obes Relat Dis 10(5):973–982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soard.2014.05.002
Drewnowski A, Popkin BM (1997) The nutrition transition: new trends in the global diet. Nutr Rev 55(2):31–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.1997.tb01593.x
Ervin RB, Kit BK, Carroll MD, Ogden CL (2012) Consumption of added sugar among US children and adolescents, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief 87:1–8 Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22617043
Fairburn CG, Cooper Z, Shafran R, Wilson GT (2008) Eating disorders: a transdiagnostic protocol. In: Barlow DH (ed) Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: a step-by-step treatment manual, 4th edn. Guilford Press, New York, pp 578–614
Francis H, Stevenson R (2013) Validity and test–retest reliability of a short dietary questionnaire to assess intake of saturated fat and free sugars: a preliminary study. J Hum Nutr Diet 26(3):234–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12008
Gibson EL, Barr S, Jeanes YM (2013) Habitual fat intake predicts memory function in younger women. Front Hum Neurosci 7:838. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00838
Gidding SS, Dennison BA, Birch LL, Daniels SR, Gilman MW, Lichtenstein AH et al (2006) Dietary recommendations for children and adolescents: a guide for practitioners. Pediatrics 117(2):544–559. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-2374
Hayes AF (2012) PROCESS: a versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling. Retrieved 27 May 2018, from http://imaging.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/statswiki/FAQ/SobelTest?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=process.pdf
Hayes AF (2013) Model templates for PROCESS for SPSS and SAS. Retrieved December, 12, 2013 from http://www.afhayes.com/public/templates.pdf
Holzner L, Szabó M (2014) Uncontrolled, repetitive eating of small amounts of food or ‘grazing’: Initial assessment in a community sample of binge eaters. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 4th congress of the European association for behavioural and cognitive therapies (EABCT)
Hu FB, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Spiegelman D, Willett WC (2000) Prospective study of major dietary patterns and risk of coronary heart disease in men. Am J Clin Nutr 72(4):912–921. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/72.4.912
Lane B, Szabó M (2013) Uncontrolled, repetitive eating of small amounts of food or ‘grazing’: development and evaluation of a new measure of atypical eating. Behav Chang 30(02):57–73. https://doi.org/10.1017/bec.2013.6
Lane B, Szabó M (2014) Corrigendum: uncontrolled, repetitive eating of small amounts of food or ‘grazing’: development and evaluation of a new measure of atypical eating. Behav Chang 31(3):222–223. https://doi.org/10.1017/bec.2014.15
Lane B, Szabó M (2015) Comment on: what is ‘grazing’? Reviewing its definition, frequency, clinical characteristics, and impact on bariatric surgery outcomes, and proposing a standardized definition. Surg Obes Relat Dis 11(1):267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soard.2014.10.019
Mather KJ, Funahashi T, Matsuzawa Y, Edelstein S, Bray GA, Kahn SE et al (2008) Adiponectin, change in adiponectin, and progression to diabetes in the diabetes prevention program. Diabetes 57(4):980–986. https://doi.org/10.2337/db07-1419
McGuire S (2011) US department of agriculture and US department of health and human services, dietary guidelines for Americans, 2010. Washington, DC: US government printing office, January 2011. Adv Nutr An Int Rev J 2(3):293–294. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.111.000430
Molarius A, Berglund K, Eriksson C, Eriksson HG, Lindén-Boström M, Nordström E et al (2009) Mental health symptoms in relation to socio-economic conditions and lifestyle factors–a population-based study in Sweden. BMC Public Health 9(1):302. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-302
Opolski M, Chur-Hansen A, Wittert G (2015) The eating-related behaviours, disorders and expectations of candidates for bariatric surgery. Clin Obes 5(4):165–197. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12104
Park S, Blanck HM, Sherry B, Brener N, O’toole T (2012) Factors associated with sugar-sweetened beverage intake among United States high school students1. J Nutr 142(2):306–312. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.111.148536
Parker K, Brennan L (2015) Measurement of disordered eating in bariatric surgery candidates: a systematic review of the literature. Obes Res Clin Prac 9(1):12–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2014.01.005
Pike KM, Borovoy A (2004) The rise of eating disorders in Japan: issues of culture and limitations of the model of “westernization”. Cult Med Psychiatry 28(4):493–531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-004-1066-6
Popkin BM (2006) Global nutrition dynamics: the world is shifting rapidly toward a diet linked with noncommunicable diseases. Am J Clin Nutr 84(2):289–298. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/84.1.289
Saunders R (1999) Binge eating in gastric bypass patients before surgery. Obes Surg 9(1):72–76. https://doi.org/10.1381/096089299765553845
Saunders R (2004) " grazing": a high-risk behavior. Obes Surg 14(1):98–102. https://doi.org/10.1381/096089204772787374
Te Morenga L, Mallard S, Mann J (2013) Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and cohort studies. BMJ 346:e7492. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e7492
World Health Organisation (2003) WHO/FAO release independent expert report on diet and chronic disease. Retrieved 25 August 2017, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2003/pr20/en/
Yahia N, Achkar A, Abdallah A, Rizk S (2008) Eating habits and obesity among Lebanese university students. Nutr J 7(1):32. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-7-32
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The study was approved by the Ethical Review Board of the University and was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. Informed written consent was obtained prior to the experiment. This article does not contain any studies with animals.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 21 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mantzios, M., Egan, H., Keyte, R. et al. Grazing, motives to eat palatable foods, and fat and sugar consumption: an exploratory investigation. J Public Health (Berl.) 27, 143–149 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0944-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0944-2