Influence of Physical Activity Participation on the Associations between Eating Behaviour Traits and Body Mass Index in Healthy Postmenopausal Women

Available data reveals inconsistent relationships between eating behaviour traits and markers of adiposity level. It is thus relevant to investigate whether other factors also need to be considered when interpreting the relationship between eating behaviour traits and adiposity. The objective of this cross-sectional study was thus to examine whether the associations between variables of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and adiposity are influenced by the level of physical activity participation. Information from the TFEQ and physical activity was obtained from 113 postmenopausal women (56.7 ± 4.2 years; 28.5 ± 5.9 kg/m(2)). BMI was compared between four groups formed on the basis of the physical activity participation and eating behaviour traits medians. In groups of women with higher physical activity participation, BMI was significantly lower in women who presented higher dietary restraint when compared to women who had lower dietary restraint (25.5 ± 0.5 versus 30.3 ± 1.7 kg/m(2), P < .05). In addition, among women with lower physical activity participation, BMI was significantly lower in women presenting a lower external hunger than in those with a higher external hunger (27.5 ± 0.8 versus 32.4 ± 1.1 kg/m(2), P < .001). Our results suggest that physical activity participation should also be taken into account when interpreting the relationship between adiposity and eating behaviour traits.