Intuitive eating scale: an examination among early adolescents

The Intuitive Eating Scale (IES; Tylka, 2006) initially was developed in a sample of college women to measure adaptive forms of eating, such as eating based on physiological rather than emotional cues. This study extends the work of Tylka (2006) and reports the psychometric evaluation of the IES in a sample of 515 middle-school boys and girls. Exploratory factor analysis identified 4 factors: Unconditional Permission to Eat, Eating for Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons, Trust in Internal Hunger/Satiety Cues, and Awareness of Internal Hunger/Satiety Cues. These factors were confirmed in a separate sample and, with 4 items from the original scale dropped, the model fit the data well. Supporting its validity, IES scores were related inversely to body mass index, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, pressure for thinness, and internalization of the thin ideal, and positively to satisfaction with life and positive affect. The underlying structure of this measure appears valid for early adolescence, though it may be best defined by fewer items and one additional factor.