High-risk situations for overeating in individuals seeking behavioural treatment for obesity

The purpose of the study was to identify and investigate high-risk situations for overeating in 151 obese individuals seeking behavioural treatment for their obesity. We have developed a self-report Questionnaire for Risk Situations of Overeating (QRS-O) with thirty-eight descriptions of specific risk situations. A five-graded assessment of the risk’s intensity and the situations’ frequency was included. The most common high-risk situations for overeating in obese participants were “When arriving home from work”, “When craving food or something ‘good’”, and “Special occasions like Christmas, Easter, etc.”. Also, negative emotional changes were often reported as high-risk for overeating, but they were not the most frequent or intensive ones. In earlier research, emotional behaviour has predominated studies of overeating. This study indicates that many recurrent and ordinary daily situations not commonly dealt with in obesity treatment can bear a significant risk of overeating. These results underline the importance of including topics about coping in such daily situations in treatment programs for overweight problems, as well as in the prevention of overweight.