Eating when bored: revision of the emotional eating scale with a focus on boredom

The current study explored whether eating when bored is a distinct construct from other negative emotions by revising the emotional eating scale (EES) to include a separate boredom factor. Additionally, the relative endorsement of eating when bored compared to eating in response to other negative emotions was examined.

A convenience sample of 139 undergraduates completed open-ended questions regarding their behaviors when experiencing different levels of emotions. Participants were then given the 25-item EES with 6 additional items designed to measure boredom.

On the open-ended items, participants more often reported eating in response to boredom than the other emotions. Exploratory factor analysis showed that boredom is a separate construct from other negative emotions. Additionally, the most frequently endorsed item on the EES was "eating when bored".

These results suggest that boredom is an important construct, and that it should be considered a separate dimension of emotional eating.