Understanding Individual Perspective Behind Eating Attitudes and Behaviors: Developing the Thoughts on Eating Scale

Eating is a fundamental human activity, yet its significance extends far beyond survival, encompassing personal values, cultural influences, and psychological dimensions. This study introduces the concept of "Thoughts on Eating" (ToE) as a foundational framework for understanding individual eating attitudes and behaviors. ToE captures diverse perspectives on food and eating, ranging from health maintenance to emotional and social dimensions.In this study, we developed and validated the Thoughts on Eating Scale (ToES), a 20-item scale with seven factors: “enriching one’s heart”, “encouraging social communication”, “realizing oneself”, “sustaining oneself”, ”respecting food”, “indifference to eating”, and “disliking eating.” Then, we confirmed its reliability and validity, including concurrent validity with Expanded Mindful Eating Scale (EMES) and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and reasonable results were obtained. Moreover, we investigated the associations of ToES with sociodemographis and eating behaviors, and some meaningful and understandable relationships were observed.The ToES also revealed meaningful associations between individual traits, eating attitudes, and behaviors, offering insights into both everyday eating patterns and disordered eating tendencies. This ToE framework along with a robust tool provides for examining the psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of eating, paving the way for future research and interventions to address diverse eating behaviors in modern society.