Flexible or rigid control of eating scale: development and validation of the FORCES in women

Many dieters show a pattern of disinhibited eating following a diet violation, and it has been proposed that the nature of their dietary restraint (i.e., whether they are rigid or flexible in their pursuit of dietary control) could prove beneficial in explaining variability in the occurrence of disinhibited eating. However, existing measures of rigid and flexible control do not adequately separate these two styles of dietary restraint.

The current studies aim to develop a new scale that more clearly differentiates the constructs of rigid and flexible control of eating. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to develop and validate the new scale across three distinct samples of women (total N = 1048).

Factor analysis identified five total factors: three relating to the rigid control of food intake (Strict Behaviours, Negative Emotions, and Worry), and two relating to the flexible control of food intake (Flexible Beliefs and Positive Emotions). The Flexible or Rigid Control of Eating Scale (FORCES) had good internal consistency, a reliable factor structure that replicated across the three samples of women and provided a clear separation between rigid and flexible control.

The FORCES may allow researchers to explain why some dieters are more likely to engage in disinhibited eating than are others and can be a beneficial step toward addressing the negative consequences of maladaptive dieting behaviour.