Attentive Eating for Weight Loss

Weight (kg) measured using Tanita Body composition scales. A lower body weight is considered a better outcome.

Energy intake (kcal) measured via 24HR recall. Lower energy intake is considered a better outcome.

Energy intake (kcal) measured via 24HR recall. Lower energy intake is considered a better outcome.

Energy intake (kcal) measured with a bogus taste-test task. Lower energy intake is considered a better outcome.

Energy intake (kcal) measured with a bogus taste-test task. Lower energy intake is considered a better outcome.

Weight (kg) measured using Tanita Body composition scales. A lower body weight is considered a better outcome.

Body fat percentage measured using Tanita Body composition scales. A lower body fat percentage is considered a better outcome.

Body fat percentage measured using Tanita Body composition scales. A lower body fat percentage is considered a better outcome.

Assessed using a computer-based visual portion size task, where participants will be asked to indicate their ideal serving size for 18 meals. In this task participants are shown portion size photographs of a meal on the screen, and are asked to use buttons on the keyboard to adjust the portion size. Based on their responses for the 18 meals, participants are assigned a value (in kcals) that represents the average energy content of their ideal portion size.

The Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-21 (Cappelleri et al., 2009) will be used to measure uncontrolled eating. The possible range of scores is 1-4 and higher scores indicate higher levels of uncontrolled eating. A lower score is considered a better outcome.

The cognitive restraint sub-scale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-21 will be used to measured cognitive restraint (Cappelleri et al., 2009). The possible range of scores is 1-4 and higher scores indicate higher levels of cognitive restraint. A lower score is considered a better outcome.

The emotional eating sub scale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-21 will be used to measured emotional eating (Cappelleri et al., 2009). The possible range of scores is 1-4 and higher scores indicate higher levels of emotional eating. A lower score is considered a better outcome.

The Binge Eating Scale will be used to measured binge eating symptoms (Gormally, Black, Daston, & Rardin, 1982). The possible range of scores is 0-46 and higher scores indicate a greater number of binge eating symptoms. A lower score is considered a better outcome.

Food cravings will be measured using the Food Cravings Questionnaire (Nijs, Franken, & Muris, 2007). The possible range of scores is 21-126 and higher scores indicate a greater food cravings. A lower score is considered a better outcome.

Intuitive eating will be measured using the reliance on hunger and satiety cues sub-scale of the Intuitive Eating Scale (IES-2; Tylka & Kroon Van Diest, 2013). The possible range of scores is 1-5, and higher scores indicate greater intuitive eating (and greater reliance on hunger and satiety signals). A higher score is considered a better outcome.

Participants beliefs about how confident they are that the intervention will help them to eat less and lose weight will be measured. The scale consists of 2 questions scored on 100-point visual analogue scales. If responses to both questions are strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.7), the average of the items will be computed to form a single composite measure. The possible score range is 0-100, with higher scores indicating higher beliefs that the intervention will help participants reduce food intake and aid weight loss.

Participants beliefs about how confident they are that the intervention helped them to eat less and lose weight will be measured. The scale consists of 2 questions scored on 100-point visual analogue scales. If responses to both questions are strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.7), the average of the items will be computed to form a single composite measure. The possible score range is 0-100, with higher scores indicating higher beliefs that the intervention helped participants reduce their food intake and lose weight.

At 8 week follow-up the researcher will download attentive eating application usage information. This will provide us with information about how often participants used the mobile phone application during the trial (e.g. number of times per day the application was accessed).

Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with participants in the experimental group during the 8 week follow-up visit, in order to understand participants' experiences of the intervention.