Appetitive Traits and its Association with Body Composition, Anthropometric Indices and Appearance Anxiety in Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Obesity, a major health hazard in both developed and developing countries, is greatly influenced by an individual's eating behaviour or appetitive trait. While eating disorders are known to be associated with abnormal body composition and cardio-metabolic risks, on par with metabolic syndrome, knowledge regarding the relationship between appetitive traits and body composition and anthropometric indices is very limited. Aim: To assess the appetitive traits of young and middle-aged individuals and correlate them with their body composition, anthropometric indices, and appearance anxiety. Materials and Methods: Sixty-eight healthy volunteers aged 19-45 years were included in this cross-sectional study. The appetitive traits, appearance anxiety, and perceived body shape of the study participants were assessed using the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ), Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI), and Contour Drawing Rating Scale (CDRS). Body composition was assessed using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). The correlation between appetitive trait scores and the study parameters was assessed using the Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficient test. Comparison of appetitive traits between males and females was done using the Independent t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were 43 males and 25 females. Significant negative correlations were observed between food avoidance scores and body composition parameters such as BMI, waist-to-height ratio, lean mass, dry lean weight, body cell mass, basal metabolic rate, and Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI). While food approach behaviour was similar between females and males, the overall food avoidance behaviour trait (53.4 +/- 11.2 vs. 47.26 +/- 9.09, p=0.016) and satiety responsiveness (12.28 +/- 3.2 vs. 10.51 +/- 2.93, p=0.024) were significantly more pronounced in females than in males. Moreover, the food avoidance behaviour of females revealed significant negative correlations with BMI, fat mass, lean mass, body cell mass, basal metabolic rate, Body Fat Mass Index (BFMI), free-fat mass index, and CDRS scores. Conclusion: The food avoidance trait is associated with abnormal changes in specific body composition parameters in adults. Satiety responsiveness and body dis-satisfaction related to being overweight are more common among young females and are associated with abnormal changes in their body composition.