Process / pipelineeating behavior and appetite regulation

Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ)

The TFEQ is a self-report instrument measuring three distinct psychological dimensions of eating behaviour: cognitive restraint (conscious dieting efforts), disinhibition (loss of control over eating when triggered by stress or environmental cues), and hunger (subjective appetite and satiety responsiveness). Developed by Stunkard and Messick in 1985, the original 51-item instrument has been refined into a 21-item version (TFEQ-R21) widely used in obesity research, eating behaviour studies, and nutritional psychology.

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Sources

  1. Stunkard, A. J., & Messick, S. (1985). The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 29(1), 71–83. DOI: 10.1016/0022-3956(85)90010-4
  2. Karlsson, J., Persson, L. O., Sjöström, L., & Sullivan, M. (2000). Psychometric properties and factor structure of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) in obese men and women. Results from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study. International Journal of Obesity, 24(12), 1715–1725. DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801442
  3. Cappelleri, J. C., Bushmakin, A. G., Gerber, R. A., Leidy, N. K., Sexton, C. C., Lowe, M. R., & Karlsson, J. (2009). Psychometric analysis of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21: Results from a large diverse sample of obese and non-obese participants. International Journal of Obesity, 33(6), 611–620. DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2009.74

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Referenced by

ScholarGateTFEQ (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/clinical-psychology/three-factor-eating-questionnaire