Cite this Article

Context

Gluttony (Latin: gula) is the overindulgence and overconsumption of anything to the point of waste. The word derives from the Latin glutting, to gulp down or swallow. In a literal sense, this means, trying to engulf anything and everything, from wealth to property to any other objects.

In modern times though, the major example of Gluttony has been the obesity pandemic and eating disorder. In India, the population is 50% more obese than just 15 years back. We are eating bad, more and for fun, more than to serve our hunger. Our bad eating habits often do not ring any bell till this results in a metabolic disorder, which then becomes extremely hard to reverse.  This instrument provides you with the ability to check your eating habits, understand your underneath eating philosophy, and take the appropriate measures.

About the Instrument

The three-factor eating questionnaire was first developed and validated by Stunkard¹ Stunkard, Albert J., and Samuel Messick. “The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger.” Journal of psychosomatic research 29.1 (1985): 71-83. in the year 1985. The original instrument comprised 67 questions, which were validated amongst 200 subjects. Later the factors were tested and retested several times to come up with a final 55 item instrument with three factors:

a) Cognitive Restraint

b) Disinhibition

c) Hunger

Disinhibition was found to be correlated with the then DSM-3 Obesity diagnostic criteria, and could accurately predict the weight gain in the depressed individual.

However, in later studies, many authors found reliability issues with the initial instrument. This was also attributed by the changing eating habits of the population, consumption of more processed food, globalization, and financial challenges arising from it.

The revised 18 item instrument called TFEQ-R18 ²Fleurbaix Laventie Ville Sante (FLVS) Study Group, The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 Is Able to Distinguish among Different Eating Patterns in a General Population, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 134, Issue 9, September 2004, Pages 2372–2380, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/134.9.2372 almost 20 years later in 2004. ‘

This is now the most accepted, used, and popular instrument to measure eating disorders.

Reliability of the Instrument

The reliability of the factors was measured by using Cronbach’s alpha values, which, in the pooled data, were 0.79 for cognitive restraint, 0.82 for uncontrolled eating, and 0.89 for emotional eating.

Clinical Relevance

1. This instrument can be referred by a clinician to his/her patient for screening a potential screening disorder at an early stage.
2. A Lyfas clinician may use this questionnaire to correlate the metabolic issues of Lyfas with eating disorders.
3. The scales and the result can be used to provide proper counseling-based therapeutics to the patients to improve their lifestyle.
4. Note:- Prescribing any drugs/supplement/medicine based on the result of this instrument is prohibited.
5. Individuals can take this test for self-assessment of their own eating habits and can improve their lifestyle to improve their scale.
6. This instrument can be used by mental health professionals to screen self-esteem or early depression.

References

[1]Stunkard, Albert J., and Samuel Messick. “The three-factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger.” Journal of psychosomatic research 29.1 (1985): 71-83.

[2]Fleurbaix Laventie Ville Sante (FLVS) Study Group Blandine de Lauzon delauzon@ vjf. inserm. fr Romon Monique Deschamps Valérie Lafay Lionel Borys Jean-Michel Karlsson Jan Ducimetière Pierre Charles M. Aline. “The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 is able to distinguish among different eating patterns in a general population.” The Journal of nutrition 134.9 (2004): 2372-2380.

Disclaimer

This instrument is provided as-is. Acculi Labs Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore, and Lyfas take no responsibility for the harm arising from taking this test, including but not limited to hypochondriasis, mental trauma, and so on. This test is anonymous. We do not collect any sensitive information of your identity such as name, email id, and so on. However, your answers and the IP address are logged. We do not use any reverse IP mapping and this data is used only for our study purpose. We do not share the data with any third party. By taking this test, you agree to not hold Acculi Labs Pvt. Ltd. and Lyfas responsible for any damage.

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