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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
06:21
Concept Development and Use of an Automated Food Intake and Eating Behavior Assessment Method
Published on: February 19, 2021
Development and validation of a Food Preoccupation Questionnaire
Katy Tapper1, Emmanuel M Pothos
1Department of Psychology, Swansea University, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom. k.tapper@swansea.ac.uk
Eating Behaviors
|December 8, 2009
Summary
A new questionnaire measures food preoccupation, assessing both thought frequency and emotional tone (positive, negative, neutral). It is useful for understanding dieting
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Existing food preoccupation questionnaires lack assessment of positive food-related thoughts.
- Understanding the emotional valence of food thoughts is crucial for cognitive research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel questionnaire assessing both the frequency and emotional valence (positive, negative, neutral) of food-related thoughts.
- To provide independent measures of thought frequency and emotional valence in food preoccupation.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Questionnaire items validated against a 3-day diary (N=40).
- Study 2: Questionnaire administered with other measures (N=130).
- Psychometric validation including construct validity, internal reliability, and test-retest reliability.
Main Results:
- The questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties.
- Individuals on diets and females reported higher frequency and negativity of food-related thoughts.
- A significant interaction indicated females exhibit a stronger link between diet status and thought frequency.
Conclusions:
- The developed questionnaire offers a valuable tool for researching the cognitive aspects of dieting.
- It can explore relationships between food preoccupation, cognitive biases in food processing, and overeating behaviors.
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