Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire: associations with BMI in Portuguese children

The objective of this study was to examine the association between the scores of the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) and BMI in a sample of Portuguese children. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 240 children (123 females and 117 males) aged 3-13 years were recruited from clinic and community-based settings. Parents completed the CEBQ to indicate their child's eating style for three 'food approach' and four 'food avoidant' sub-scales. Factor analyses revealed an underlying structure similar to the original CEBQ. Children's height and weight were measured to calculate BMI and Centre for Disease Control BMI z-scores. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for gender, age and socioeconomic status indicated that all CEBQ sub-scales were significantly associated with BMI z-scores (P = 0.03 to < 0.001). Food approach scales were positively related to BMI z-scores (beta = 0.33-0.51) and food avoidance negatively related (beta = - 0.17 to - 0.46). Our results support the use of the CEBQ to further understand eating style as a behavioural pathway to obesity.