Exercício compulsivo e comer intuitivo: um estudo transcultural entre Brasil e Estados Unidos

Abstract

Compulsive exercise is a dysfunctional behavior characterized by excessive physical exercise, loss of control over exercise behavior, and negative consequences for the individual's life, aiming of changing body weight and shape. It is associated with disordered eating, characterized by dysregulated eating patterns, including behaviors of overeating or severely restricting food intake, binge eating, or purging practices. In opposition to these eating behaviors is intuitive eating, an eating behavior in which the diet mentality is rejected and internal signals of hunger and satiety are carefully listened to in order to make dietary decisions. Although compulsive exercise and intuitive eating are the subject of research in different cultures, little is known about cultural differences in the presentation of these behaviors. In this context, Brazil and the United States stand out, two countries with high rates of obesity, practice of plastic surgery, consumption of anorectic substances, and high concern with physical appearance and body image. The aim of this study was to validate and test the measurement invariance of a compulsive exercise scale (Compulsive Exercise Test – CET) and an intuitive eating scale (Intuitive Eating Scale-2 – IES-2) between Brazil and the United States to allow cross-cultural comparisons between these countries. To this end, data were collected from 1,531 young Brazilians (n = 601) and North Americans (n = 930). The data were treated and discussed in two separate articles. The first was entitled “Validation and measurement invariance of the Compulsive Exercise Test among Brazilian and American young adults”; and the second was entitled “Measurement invariance of the Intuitive Eating Scale–2 across country, ethnicity, sex, and sexual orientation: A cross-cultural study between Brazil and the U.S.”. In the first article, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) was used to assess convergent validity. In summary, the results indicate versions with adequate evidence of validity and reliability of the CET and IES-2. However, measurement invariance between Brazil and the United States was found only for the CET. Regarding compulsive exercise, Brazilians had higher scores for avoidance and rule-guided behaviors, and also for practicing physical exercise for mood control, while Americans obtained higher scores for the CET subscale that assesses the practice of physical exercise for weight control. Regarding intuitive eating, as previously highlighted, no evidence of measurement invariance was obtained, which does not allow comparison between cultures. Invariance between sex and sexual orientation were obtained, indicating higher scores for intuitive eating in men compared to women, and also higher scores in heterosexuals compared to sexual minorities. The present study contributes to future cross-cultural studies on compulsive exercise. It is suggested that future studies identify invariant versions of the IES-2 across cultures, allowing cross-cultural comparisons.