Introduction & Objective: Emotional, external, and restricted eating styles may shape diet, glycemic levels, and other cardiovascular risk factors in T1D. We characterized eating styles among older adults with T1D given scant knowledge to guide dietary counseling in this growing population.
Methods: Older adults with T1D seeking care at an academic endocrinology clinic completed an online survey (Sep-Nov 2023) with the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). We calculated mean and median restrained, external, and emotional eating style scores and examined relationships between scores, BMI, and HbA1c.
Results: The DEBQ was completed by 77 older adults (age 71.3 ± 4.1, 93.5% non-Hispanic White) with T1D (duration 33.5± 18.1, Hba1c 6.8 ± 1.1, BMI 27.3 ± 4.7). Scores for restrained eating (M: 1.54, Range: 0.0 - 3.4), emotional eating (M: 0.94, Range: 0.0 - 3.8), and external eating (M: 1.51, Range: 0.0 - 3.2) were lower than estimates in extant studies. Results suggest a positive relationship between emotional and external eating, between emotional eating and BMI, as well as a negative relationship between restrained eating and HbA1c (Figure 1).
Conclusion: This is the first study to characterize eating styles among older adults with T1D. Results suggest distinct eating styles in this population that may correlate with key clinical outcomes. Research must further evaluate validity of the DEBQ and identify clinically relevant cut points.
A. Cristello Sarteau: None. N.R. Gopisetty: None. J. Sprinkles: None. G. Ercolino: None. A. Fruik: None. R. Muthukkumar: None. X. Qu: None. E.J. Mayer-Davis: None. A. Kahkoska: None.
K12TR004416
