Eating Competence: Definition and Evidence for the Satter Eating Competence Model

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2007.01.006

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Volume 39, Issue 5, Supplement, September–October 2007, Pages S142-S153

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2007.01.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

The evidence- and practice-based Satter Eating Competence Model (ecSatter) outlines an inclusive definition of the interrelated spectrum of eating attitudes and behaviors. The model is predicated on the utility and effectiveness of biopsychosocial processes: hunger and the drive to survive, appetite and the need for subjective reward and the biological propensity to maintain preferred and stable body weight. According to ecSatter, competent eaters have 1) positive attitudes about eating and about food, 2) food acceptance skills that support eating an ever-increasing variety of the available food, 3) internal regulation skills that allow intuitively consuming enough food to give energy and stamina and to support stable body weight, and 4) skills and resources for managing the food context and orchestrating family meals. Identifying these four constructs allows nutrition professionals to target interventions as well as trust and support the individual’s own capabilities and tendency to learn and grow.

Section snippets

Eating Competence

An obvious truth, but one that is all too often forgotten, is that the purpose of eating is to sustain life. On a fundamental level, eating competence has to do with the behaviors and attitudes that ensure getting fed. Maintaining access to a variety of nutritious food in amounts adequate to support the needs and stresses of life is a tremendously complex and unrelenting task. It is self-evident that every society that has survived has done enormous amounts of trial and error to arrive at

Eating Attitudes from the ecSatter Perspective

From the perspective of ecSatter, to support nutritional health, it is critical to establish and maintain positive, confident, relaxed, comfortable, and flexible attitudes about eating. Such positive attitudes allow being responsively attuned to outer and inner experiences relative to eating. Outer experiences include food availability, social interactions with eating companions (and those who control the food supply), and supports or pressures on eating attitudes and behaviors inherent in

Food Acceptance from the ecSatter Perspective

From the perspective of ecSatter, enjoyment and pleasure are primary motivators for food selection, and nutritional excellence is supported by enjoyment and learned food preference based on subjective reward from eating. Food acceptance attitudes and behaviors include taking a positive interest in food, being comfortable in the presence of unfamiliar food, and being inclined to experiment with novel food and learn to like it. Appetite—the interest in eating based on its aesthetic and gustatory

Regulation of Food Intake from the ecSatter Perspective

The Satter Eating Competence Model of regulating food intake, energy balance, and body weight is experiential in nature. It emphasizes internally regulated eating, which attends to physiological homeostatic mechanisms that support biologically preferred body weight and maintains energy balance through the sensations of hunger and fullness. Appetitive cues—the pursuit of aesthetics and pleasure—guide regulation through preference for higher- or lower-calorie food depending on energy deficit. In

Eating Context from the ecSatter Perspective

ecSatter stresses providing rather than depriving, food seeking rather than food avoidance. Relative to maintaining nutritional quality of the diet, the primary nutrition goal is structure and the primary intervention is meal planning. Social importance of mealtimes aside, meals provide reliable access to food, offer a wider variety of food than that commonly chosen for snacks or grazing, and give a framework for repeated, neutral exposure to unfamiliar food. Structure and meal planning build

ecSatter Supports Nutrition Policy

Despite the fact that ecSatter is fundamentally different from the conventional approach, it is consistent with nutrition policy as defined by the Dietary Guidelines.¹² In contrast to MyPyramid,¹³ which operationalizes the Dietary Guidelines with prescriptions of what and how much to eat, ecSatter operationalizes the Dietary Guidelines by emphasizing family meals and food-management strategy that supports family meals, particularly including choosing intrinsically rewarding food.

Implications

ecSatter frames a perspective on eating attitudes and behaviors that is broader and more inclusive than, as well as philosophically opposite from, the conventional approach. The model separates the components of food- and nutrition-related attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors and defines a measurable vocabulary. Those components of eating competence are: (1) eating attitudes, (2) food acceptance skills, (3) skills with respect to regulation of food intake and body weight, and (4) capability

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Eating competence is an intraindividual approach to eating, behaviors, and attitudes related to eating, with repercussions on the individual and family. In pediatric celiac disease, the family is involved in the gluten-free diet management, the only treatment available. A gluten-free diet might affect eating competence because gluten-free diet compliance requires knowledge about food, meal planning, and attention to food choices. The objective is to access eating competence in caregivers of children with celiac disease and the association between caregivers’ eating competence, children's adherence to a gluten-free diet, and sociodemographic data of participants.
This cross-sectional study used a snowball spread method by applying a questionnaire, including sociodemographic data, data related to health, eating habits, and the Satter Eating Competence Inventory version validated for the Brazilian population. The sample consisted of 220 Brazilian parents or caregivers of celiac disease children. The scores of the Satter Eating Competence Inventory version validated for the Brazilian population were described in terms of means, SDs, medians, and interquartile range. Student's t test and analysis of variance followed by Tukey's post hoc tests were applied, and the association with the variables of interest was analyzed using Pearson χ² tests. The tests were conducted considering bilateral hypotheses and a 5% significance level.
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Review articleEating Competence: Definition and Evidence for the Satter Eating Competence Model

Abstract

Section snippets

Eating Competence

Eating Attitudes from the ecSatter Perspective

Food Acceptance from the ecSatter Perspective

Regulation of Food Intake from the ecSatter Perspective

Eating Context from the ecSatter Perspective

ecSatter Supports Nutrition Policy

Implications

J Nutr Educ Behav (suppl)

J Nutr Educ Behav (suppl)

J Nutr Educ Behav (suppl)

J Nutr Educ Behav (suppl)

Pediatr Clin North Am

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

Am J Clin Nutr

Appetite

Appetite

Am J Clin Nutr

Appetite

Physiol Behav

J Nutr

J Nutr

J Clin Epidemiol

Am J Clin Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

J Am Diet Assoc

Am J Clin Nutr

J Am Diet Assoc

J Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

Eat Behav

Addict Behav

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

Am J Clin Nutr

J Adolesc Health

Prev Med

J Adolesc Health

Am J Clin Nutr

Children’s eating: the development of food-acceptance patterns

Young Child

Optimize feeding: birth through preschool

Optimize feeding: your school-age child

Optimize feeding: your adolescent

The secret in a nutshell

The good and the bad: how Americans are making food choices

Nutrition News

Survey of American Dietary Habits

What America really eats

Nutrition Trends 2002: Final Report of Findings

Review article
Eating Competence: Definition and Evidence for the Satter Eating Competence Model