Three-Factor Eating Scale (Eating Inventory)

Brief Description:
• Stunkard, & Messick (1985)
• Some items were taken from Herman and Polivy’s Revised Restraint Scale and Pudel’s Latent Obesity Questionnaire
• Measures both cognitive and behavioural aspects of eating (Dietary restraint, Disinhibition, and Hunger)

Versions:
• English
• 18 item version in: English, French, and Swedish

Type of Measure:
• Self-completed
• 51 items (although there are both a 21 and 18 item version)
• Original Version: 2 parts: Part 1-36 true/false; Part 2 – 14 questions on a four point Likert scale (1= rarely, 2 = sometimes, 3 = usually, 4 = always) and 1 question on a five point Likert scale (1 = eat whatever you want, whenever you want it to 5 = constantly limiting food intake, never ‘giving in’; other questions)
• Revised 18 item version: 18 statements with four to eight response choices
• Revised 21 item version: 21 statements with four to eight response choices

Target Population:
• Obese and non-obese adults

Scoring:
• Scores are based differently in both parts. In part 1, Items correspond with one of the three dimensions of eating.

Psychometrics:
Source Reference:
Stunkard & Messick (1985): 220 dieters, non-obese persons, community sample and university class.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = factor 1 = 0.93, factor 2 = 0.91, factor 3 = 0.85
• Validity: criterion (binge eating severity correlated with factor 2 (r = 0.61) and factor 3 (r = 0.54))
• Three dimensions: Factor 1: Cognitive restraint of eating, Factor 2: disinhibition and Factor 3: hunger

Karlsson et al., (2000): 4377 obese, middle-aged Swedish participants. For the original 51 item scale, authors found convergent validity, item-scale internal consistency and structure of disinhibition to be weak. Authors developed an 18 item scale; results reflect this scale.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha for all three subscales were above 0.70 ( Ranging from 0.76 to 0.85)
• Validity: Uncontrolled eating subscale correlated with hunger (r = 0.89) and disinhibition (r = 0.77); Emotional eating subscale correlated with disinhibition (r = 0.69) and hunger (r = 0.41)
• Three dimensions: Factor 1: Cognitive restraint, Factor 2: Uncontrolled eating (made up of disinhibition and hunger) and Factor 3: Emotional eating

Cappelleri et al., (2009): 1741 Obese U.S. and Canadians and a web-based survey of 1275 U.S. participants. Authors used a 21 item revised version and in this study revised it to an 18 item, four point Likert scale.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.78 to 0.94
• Validity: not reported
• Three factor model

Utility for Prevalence Surveys:
• Untested but potentially good; see Cappelleri, et al., 2009

Research Applicability:
• Widely used

Copyright, Cost, and Source Issues:
• Public domain (no cost): available in source reference
• Revised 18 item version available in Karlsson et al., 2000
• Revised 21 item version available in Cappelleri et al., 2009

Source References:
Stunkard, A. J., & Messick, S. (1985). The three factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 29(1), 71-83.

Supporting References:
Karlsson, J., Persson, L., Sjostrom, L., & Sullivan, M. (2000). Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) in obese men and women. Results from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study. International Journal of Obesity, 24, 1715-1725.