Eating habits and attitudes significantly affect the physical and mental well-being of individuals all over the world. The results of eating attitudes can be either positive or negative.  So, to understand or grasp eating behaviors, it is important to identify any anomaly or disorder in eating behavior that can have negative health implications.  This is where the Eating Attitude ( EAT) comes into play.
It has remained one of the most used evaluation tools designed to identify and assess abnormal eating patterns or disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

As we read on, we will explore what the Eating Attitudes Test is, how it came to be its components, and its uses or applications in healthcare and research as well as the pros and cons. We will also show you a quick and easy guide on creating your own EAT hassle-free with Formplus, a robust and fully customizable form builder for designing surveys and assessments.

What is an Eating Attitudes Test?

The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) is a self-report measure that assesses eating-related behaviors, attitudes, and food concerns. Originally designed as a screening tool, the EAT primarily identifies individuals at risk of eating disorders. The EAT typically includes questions that measure thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to food, weight, and body image. Participants respond to the questions on a scale, allowing for a quantitative analysis of their attitudes toward eating and food.

 History and Development

The original EAT was developed in 1979 by Garner and Garfinkel to screen individuals for anorexia nervosa defined as anorexia, an eating disorder that causes a severe and strong fear of gaining weight. The symptom is usually a distorted view of being overweight when an individual is dangerously skinny.  So, in this case, they use self-induced purging or puking of food after each meal to achieve an extreme calorie deficit, all in a bid to control weight/body image.

The initial version of the test, the EAT-40, contained 40 questions. However, it was later revised to a shorter, 26-item version, the EAT-26, which is more commonly used today. They revised the test to make it easy for survey participants to complete without compromising diagnostic accuracy. Over the years, clinicians and researchers have adapted the EAT to detect a broad range of disordered eating behaviors.

Key Components and Structure

The EAT is structured around three main components:

• Dieting behavior – Ask questions here, about an individual’s adoption of restrictive diets or meal plans, including excessive obsession with calorie deficits and unhealthy weight loss goals.
• Bulimic tendencies – Questions about binge eating, purging, and other compensatory behaviors.
• Oral control – Questions on the level of control an individual exercises over their eating habits and their feelings about food.

Participants answer on a Likert scale (ranging from “always” to “never”), which allows the test administrator to score the responses and identify any concerning patterns of behavior.

The Application of Eating Attitude Tests

Who Uses Eating AttitudeTests?

Eating Attitudes Tests are used by a variety of professionals, including:

• Health professionals: Professionals in the healthcare space like psychologists, die and titians, use the EAT to identify any disorders in eating amongst their patients. 
• Researchers: adopt the EAT test to study and analyze the extent of eating disorders across various demographics They also evaluate the success rate of their interventions. 
• Educators: In the area of academia the EAT is used by educators to identify students who already have an eating disorder or are prone to one based on their eating choices.This way they kickstart timely intervention. 

Common Settings for Administration

You can administer the EAT in several settings, including:

Clinics and hospitals: Medical professionals use the EAT test as a standard during routine checkups and when conducting mental health evaluations.

Schools and universities: Academic institutions administer the EAT to students during health assessments and incorporate it into educational programs.

Online platforms: EAT is also available in digital formats, allowing respondents during a survey or individuals to complete the test remotely.

The Process of Administering the EAT Test

Step 1: Purpose of the Test

While not a diagnostic tool, the EAT-26 screens for eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors. It helps identify the need for further evaluation by a healthcare professional.

Step 2: How the Test Is Given

• Format:
  The T-26 is a self-administered questionnaire, meaning the person taking the test answers the questions themselves. They do this first by reporting their weight and height to determine their body mass index.
• Structure:
  Ask here, the 26 standard questions covering diets, body image, eating habits, thoughts, and behaviors. Respondents rate their answers on a six-point Likert scale.with options like Always, Usually, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never.
  This is followed by an optional additional 5 behavioral questions on a person’s seating attitude over the past 6 months etc( binge eating, vomiting) responses to these optional questions are usually rated. These responses are rated along the following options, Once a month or less, 2–3 times a month, Once a week, 2–6 times a week, Once a day or more.
• Environment:
  Test-takers complete the test in a quiet, private space to ensure honest, reflective answers.

Step 3: Scoring

• Questions 1–25:
  • Responses are scored on a 4-point scale:
    • Always = 3 points
    • Usually = 2 points
    • Often = 1 point
    • Sometimes, Rarely, Never = 0 points
• Question 26:
  • This question is reverse-scored (e.g., “Never” gets the most points).
• Final Score:
  • We sum the points from all 26 questions. A score of 20 or higher indicates the need for further evaluation by a healthcare professional.

 How Results are Used and Interpreted

The EAT results are analyzed to check whether the individual’s eating behaviors and attitudes fall within a healthy range. Scores above the standard threshold may indicate the possibility of an eating disorder, prompting further evaluation by healthcare professionals. The data is aggregated and analyzed in research settings to identify trends or draw conclusions about eating behaviors in specific populations.

Pros of Eating Attitude Tests

Early Identification of Eating Disorders

One of the most significant advantages of the EAT is its ability to identify any anomalies in eating patterns early. Early identification is important to nip any health concerns in the bud that may arise from an eating disorder. This way individuals can quickly get the required intervention before the disorder evolves into a life-threatening health condition.

Comprehensive Assessment of Eating Behaviors and Attitudes

The EAT provides a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s attitudes toward eating, it highlights or uncovers your dieting habits, feelings about food, and any compulsive behaviors related to your rating pattern. This broad scope helps professionals collect insights into the individual’s relationship with food and body image.

Enhances Understanding of Eating Disorder Prevalence

The EAT is also useful in research, as it provides the data to track trends or prevalence in eating behaviors across different populations. This way public health initiatives and educational programs can be provided to curb or prevent eating disorders. 

Cons of Eating Attitude Tests

Potential for False Positives/Negatives

One of the main drawbacks of the EAT is the possibility of inaccurate results. This is so because individuals may not often fill the questionnaire with the true state of their eating habits. This could be because of a temporary eating pattern induced by stress, health challenges or someone simply following a fad diet at the time of the survey.

Cultural and Socio-Economic Biases

The EAT was originally developed in a Western context, and while it has been adapted for use in other cultures, there are still cultural biases in how certain behaviors are interpreted. Eating habits and attitudes across the world are influenced by cultural norms. For instance during festive periods or marriage celebrations in parts of West Africa, the bride sometimes gives a treatment known as the fattening room.

This means that an individual who returns home from the West to have their marriage rites and fill out the eat questionnaire during or after that period will project a result that doesn’t represent their actual reality.

Privacy and Ethical Concerns

Privacy concerns may arise because the EAT asks personal questions about eating habits and mental health. This is especially true when the test is administered online. To ensure respondent confidentiality and provide support in case of issues, it’s crucial to establish a structure for handling their information and offering necessary resources.

Limitations in Capturing the Complexity of Eating Disorders

While the EAT is a valuable tool, it doesn’t always capture the full complexity of eating disorders. Psychological, emotional, and social factors can influence eating disorders beyond self-report tests. This means that The EAT should, be an initial screening tool and not a comprehensive diagnostic instrument.

How to Create an Eating Attitudes Test with Formplus

Formplus is a versatile form-building platform that lets users access a wide variety of form templates. You can extensively tweak these templates to fit individual use cases. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating an EAT with Formplus:

Sign Up and Login: Begin by signing up for a free account on the Formplus website. Once you’ve created your account, log in to access the form templates library.

Customize Your Form Search for the Eating attitudes questionnaire, then use the drag-and-drop form builder to add or include fields, and change layout, and font colors. You can even add images your brand logo and elements and basically any other details you want.

You can include standard questions from the EAT-26.   Or you can customize your questions based on the behavior and attitudes you want to assess. Formplus features a wide variety of question formats, like multiple-choice and Likert scale options, and more.

Smart Notifications: This feature notifies you in real-time once your EAT questionnaire is accessed and filled. This way you can analyze promptly using the advanced analytics and report feature.

Publish and Share: Formplus features an advanced sharing option that lets you share via QR codes emending your website or via an email linkFormplus also allows you to configure access controls protecting data collected from unauthorized personnel.

Analyze Results: We also offer intuitive analytics tools to help you interpret the results of your EAT. You can view responses in real time, and generate reports to summarize the findings. You can download the data for further analysis, and share it with your stakeholders all in real time.

Conclusion

Eating Attitudes Tests are important tools for identifying disorders in ting patterns and ensuring timely intervention. The insights it offers into an individual’s eating behaviors and attitudes, aid health professionals and researchers. It helps them to better understand the prevalence of eating disorders and provide the necessary support to those affected.

With Formplus you can customize Eating Attitudes Tests without any hassles. The intuitive design lets you efficiently create, share, and analyze tests, streamlining the information-gathering process. Whatever your field or niche, either from healthcare to research or education, with Formplus you can better assess them.  Then address the challenges of eating disorders in a way that is practical easy to use, and sensitive to the needs of your respondents.

Sign up here to get started on your customized EAT attitudes questionnaire today.