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Validating the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) in obese patients

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) in a large sample of subjects with obesity seeking treatment. BUT is a 71-item self-report questionnaire in two parts: BUT-A which measures weight phobia, body image concerns, avoidance, compulsive self-monitoring, detachment and estrangement feelings towards one’s own body (depersonalization); and BUT-B, which looks at specific worries about particular body parts or functions. METHODS: We recruited a clinical sample of 1,812 adult subjects (age range 18–65 years, females 1,411, males 401) with obesity (Body Mass Index, BMI ≧30 kg/m2) and a normal weight (BMI value between 18.5 and 25 kg/m2) non-clinical sample of 457 adult subjects (females 248, males 209) with an Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) score under the cut-off point 20 (scores ≧20 indicate possible cases of eating disorders). RESULTS: The exploratory and confirmatory analyses confirmed a structural five-factor model for BUT-A and an eight-factor model for BUT-B. Internal consistency was satisfactory. Concurrent validity with Binge Eating Scale (BES) and Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) was evaluated. The authors calculated mean values for BUT scores in adult (18–65 years) patients with obesity, and evaluated the influence of gender, age and BMI. Females obtained statistically significant higher scores than males in all age groups and in all classes of obesity; patients with obesity, compared with normal weight subjects, generally obtained statistically significant higher scores, but few differences could be attributed to the influence of BMI. CONCLUSION: The BUT can be a valuable multidimensional tool for the clinical assessment of body uneasiness in obesity; the scores of its sub-scales do not show a linear correlation with BMI values.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obesity and Eating Disorders Unit, ASL Rovigo, Italy

    G. Marano

  2. Medical School Policlinico Umberto I, Department of Medical Physiopathology, Obesity and Eating Disorders Unit, University of Rome La Sapienza, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161, Roma, Italy

    M. Cuzzolaro, F. Temperilli & G. Spera

  3. Department of Philosophical Research, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

    G. Vetrone

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Canada

    P. E. Garfinkel

  5. Department of Eating and Weight Disorders, Villa Garda Hospital, Garda, Italy

    R. Dalle Grave & S. Calugi

  6. Department of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy

    G. Marchesini

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  1. G. Marano
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  2. M. Cuzzolaro
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the QUOVADIS Study Group

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Correspondence to M. Cuzzolaro.

Additional information

A complete list of participants in the QUOVADIS study has been previously published (Diab Nutr Metab 16: 115–124, 2003)

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Marano, G., Cuzzolaro, M., Vetrone, G. et al. Validating the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) in obese patients. Eat Weight Disord 12, 70–82 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03327581

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