Self‐Reported Eating Behaviors of Extremely Obese Persons Seeking Bariatric Surgery: A Factor Analytic Approach

Objective: To summarize the self‐reported eating behaviors of persons seeking bariatric surgery and to provide reliability data for a clinical instrument that assesses those eating behaviors. Research Methods and Procedures: Adults (552) with extreme obesity (mean ± standard deviation BMI = 52.4 ± 10.1 kg/m 2 ) completed the Weight and Lifestyle Inventory (WALI) before undergoing bariatric surgery. The WALI is a self‐report instrument that includes 24 items that assess the eating behaviors to which respondents attribute their excess weight. These items were entered into a principal components analysis with promax rotation. Relationships of factor scores to demographic and psychosocial variables were examined. Test‐retest reliability data were obtained from a smaller sample ( n = 58) of less obese participants (BMI = 34.4 ± 4.0 kg/m 2 ) who completed the WALI twice within 2 weeks, before beginning a non‐surgical weight loss program. Results: The principal components analysis yielded five factors with acceptable internal consistency and test‐retest reliability. These included: eating in response to negative affect, eating in response to positive affect and social cues, general overeating and impaired appetite regulation, overeating at early meals, and snacking. Each factor was related to symptoms of binge eating disorder, and every factor except the second one was associated with depressive symptoms. Factor scores were unrelated or weakly associated with demographic characteristics. Discussion: The eating behaviors of persons seeking bariatric surgery can be assessed reliably and parsimoniously with the WALI. The predictive utility of the factors obtained in this study remains to be examined.