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. 2019 Apr;9(2):e12299.
doi: 10.1111/cob.12299. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Sustained behaviour change in healthy eating to improve obesity outcomes: It is time to abandon willpower to appreciate wanting

Michael Vallis  1
Affiliations

Sustained behaviour change in healthy eating to improve obesity outcomes: It is time to abandon willpower to appreciate wanting

Michael Vallis. Clin Obes. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to report on a nationally representative survey of the experience of Canadian adults regarding food cravings and the impact of these cravings on behaviour and quality of life. A total of 1532 respondents (16% of members of an online panel emailed an invitation and link) completed a nationally distributed survey. Almost two-thirds of the sample reported experiencing cravings, with women being more likely to report cravings than men. Of those with cravings, 83.1% reported moderate or strong cravings. Cravings impacted eating behaviours and quality of life, especially for those with strong cravings. Cravings were associated with being bored, emotional or watching TV. Those who identified themselves as overweight or as trying to lose weight were more likely to have cravings. Of those reporting to be overweight and trying to lose weight few experienced distress because of lack of access to help and rates of interest in being guided by healthcare professionals were low, except in those with strong cravings. These results reinforce the notion that eating behaviour may differ from other behaviours in that there is a strong drive to eat that is difficult to control for many individuals. Behavioural interventions targeting healthy eating should be developed to address this construct of drive to eat, that is, food cravings.

Keywords: cravings; overweight; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr M.V. has no conflicts of interest in the analysis and write up of this paper. The survey was sponsored by Valeant. Outside of the preparation of this paper, Dr M.V. sits on Ad Boards and consults to Valeant, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. He receives travel support and periodic lecture honoraria from Valeant, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, CSL Behring, Lifescan and Abbvie.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Psychological impact of food cravings as expressed by percentage agreement with psychological impact characteristics
Figure 2
Figure 2
Psychological impact based on strength of food cravings
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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