ABSTRACT
Psychological factors play a significant role in many nutritional abnormalities. These factors include mood (depression, anger, anxiety), emotional eating, distorted body image, low self-esteem, poor self-efficacy, dietary restraint, stress, susceptibility to external cues to eat, locus of control, and stage of change (see Table 39.1). They contribute to a number of nutritional abnormalities including obesity, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. In this section we discuss instruments that assess psychological factors relevant to nutritional goals and concerns.
