Relationship of Food Craving Behavior with Body Mass Index and Body Composition in Reproductive Age Females

Objective: To estimate the relationship of Food Craving (FC) behavior with females’ Body Mass Index (BMI), and body-composition. Design, setting and participants: A cross-sectional study of 302 reproductive-age women from middle-socioeconomic class was conducted at the Health u0026 Occupational-Environmental Laboratory. Variable Measures: A FC behavior questionnaire (FCQ) was designed and validated in 151 female subjects. This questionnaire evaluated five dimensions: FC-leisure, FC-psychological reactance, FC-depression, FC-anxiety/stress, and FC-anger. Dependent variables were Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m2) and the body fat mass. Interventions: A second group of 151 women completed the FCQ. Anthropometrical variables were recorded using the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry procedure. Analysis: A multiple regression-analysis using STAT- ISTICS version 7 was performed to determine the relationship of FC behavior with anthropometrical variables described. Results: We demonstrated that 98.7% of women had FC behavior. Women with higher BMI had higher scores of FC-depressions (p = 0.02) and FC-anger (p = 0.007). Food craving behavior (p u003c 0.0008), and food psychological-reactance (p = 0.006), were positive predictors of BMI; food psychological reactance was also a positive predictor of upper and lower-body fat mass (p = 0.005) and (p = 0.008), respectively. Conclusion and Implications: The food craving behavior is a common problem in the female population. Food psychological reactance, in addition to another affective alteration that present the population of women are predictor variables for the increase in BMI and in body-fat mass. It is important that health professionals are aware of the affective states of their patients.