Ricerc@Sapienza

Background: Eating self-efficacy (ESE) may be defined as the belief in one’s ability to self-regulate eating. Several ESE scales have been proposed but most of them focus on weight management or dieting. We developed a very brief scale assessing ESE in situations in which people face external (i.e. food availability and social eating) or internal (i.e. emotions, tension and hunger) pressures for excessive food intake.

PURPOSE:
Eating self-efficacy (ESE) is the belief in one's ability to self-regulate eating. Social and emotional situations may be differently challenging depending on the individual eating habits, body mass index and affects. Several ESE scales have been developed but most of them focus on weight management, dieting or healthy eating. The aim of the study was to validate a new brief scale assessing ESE in situations in which people face social or emotional pressures for excessive food intake.