Development of Novel Eating Error Scoring Tool to Evaluate Adult Eating Behavior Anomalies Among the United Arab Emirates Population

Introduction Maladaptive eating behaviors are emerging as the most significant determinants of obesity with a promising role in intervention. In the absence of a standardized tool to assess eating variations, an Eating Error Score (EES) tool was devised which comprised five zones for evaluating the severity of obesogenic behaviors as well as the specific area(s) with the highest susceptibility. This pilot study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the EES in quantitating the eating behavior errors associated with excess weight and identifying the most affected zones. Methods The EES questionnaire was designed to explore potential disturbances in five zones of eating behavior related to the impetus to eat (Munger), meal choices and attentiveness to cravings (Impulsive), consumption speed (Speed feeding), cues to stop ingestion (Indulgent) and the social aspect of eating (Relationship). The questionnaire was conducted on adults with varying body mass index (BMI) attending governmental outpatient clinics. The correlation between EES and BMI was determined through Pearson Coefficient. Results A total of 204 participants completed the EES questionnaire. There were 72 males and 132 females with a mean BMI of 27.63 ± 6.16 kg/m and with nearly equal distribution between normal weight (37.2%), overweight (32.4%), and obese (29.4%) individuals. Nearly 75% of our cohort had a moderate total EES, and the remainder was equally distributed between the mild and severe ranges. A weak but significant correlation was observed between total EES and BMI (r=0.275, p