Eating behaviors are risk factors for the development of overweight

This research aimed to characterize eating behavior in a sample of Chilean adults according to their gender and body mass index and to analyze the possible links between these variables and abnormal eating behaviors. We hypothesized that there would be significant differences in the eating behavior of normal-weight and overweight people, and also between men and women. Further, we hypothesized that overweight participants would show more abnormal eating behaviors than their normal-weight counterparts. Two hundred ninety-two participants (205 women and 87 men, age range 18-64 years) were evaluated with a battery of self-administered questionnaires. Mean body mass index was 26.58 kg/m² (women 26.22 kg/m², men 27.41 kg/m²), that is, within the overweight range. Participants with overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m²) tended to eat faster and in greater quantities, selected more hyper-calorie foods, and engaged in a greater number of abnormal eating behaviors of various kinds. The results suggest that, in addition to what people eat, the question of how people eat may also contribute to the rapid increase in the levels of overweight and obesity in the Chilean population.