Examining the ecological validity of the Power of Food Scale.

PURPOSE

Appetite for palatable foods may impact eating-related behaviors in everyday life. The present study evaluated the real-world predictive validity of the Power of Food Scale (PFS) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

METHODS

30 women who reported binge eating completed the PFS and related measures. Subsequently, during a 14-day assessment period, participants completed five daily EMA surveys of appetite and binge eating via text message and web.

RESULTS

Results of generalized estimating equations showed that higher PFS scores were associated with higher momentary levels of hunger, eagerness to eat, and urge to eat but were unrelated to fullness, preoccupation with thoughts of food, and binge eating.

CONCLUSION

This study supported the ecological validity of the PFS by demonstrating its association with momentary measures of appetite in everyday life using EMA. Although the PFS may not be predictive of binge eating, future research should investigate PFS as a dispositional moderator, and explore associations between the PFS and overeating (i.e., binge eating without the loss of control component) and loss of control eating in non-clinical samples.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV, multiple time series.