Published in

MDPI, Nutrients, 15(14), p. 3033, 2022

DOI: 10.3390/nu14153033

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Eating Behavior Associated with Food Intake in European Adolescents Participating in the HELENA Study

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Adolescence is recognized as a time of rapid physiological and behavioral change. In this transition, eating behavior is still being formed and remains an integral part of a person’s lifestyle throughout his or her life. This study aims to assess eating behavior and associations with food intake in European adolescents. We included 2194 adolescents (45.9% boys), aged 12.5 to 17.5 years, from the cross-sectional HELENA study, with two completed 24 h recalls and complete questionnaire data on their eating behavior (Eating Behavior and Weight Problems Inventory for Children- EWI-C). Three subscales of the EWI were evaluated; they measured Strength and motivation to eat (EWI 1), Importance and impact of eating (EWI 2), and Eating as a means of coping with emotional stress (EWI 3). Since these subscales were specially focused on eating behavior, participants were classified as either Low (≤P75) or High (>P75) on each of the subscales. Our results showed a higher consumption of different types of food, in the EWI 1 scales, linked to the hunger and interest in eating, and we observed a relationship with the consumption of energy-dense products. This result was repeated in EWI 3, the subscale linked to emotional eating, where we also found higher consumption of energy-dense products. This study suggests that special features of eating behavior are associated with food intake in adolescents.