PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH Information for Prospective Participants The following research activity has been reviewed via QUT arrangements for the conduct of research involving human participation. If you choose to participate, you will be provided with more detailed participant information, including whom you can contact if you have any concerns. Personality and its association with eating behaviour and food craving. Research team contacts Principal Researcher: Lynette Mackey PhD Student, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Associate Researchers: Professor Neil King School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, and Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), QUT Dr Melanie White Dr Zephanie Tyack School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, IHBI, QUT School of Allied and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University (ACU) What is the purpose of the research? The purpose of this project is to determine whether personality and eating behaviour traits are related to food cravings. Weight management programs encourage the use of self-responsible behaviours that often require a large investment of effort and ‘will power’. Individuals who follow these programs often find themselves in a never-ending battle against cravings for foods that they “simply just have to have”….without really understanding why. This can be a demoralising situation. Too often it ends with the overconsumption of food and feelings of failure. For too long, traditional weight management programs have relied upon an individual pitting their will power against their desire and craving for food. However, it has been identified, from an earlier study, that the possession of certain personality traits may be associated with cravings for high fat and sweet foods. This suggests that an alternative way to managing weight may need to be considered. For example, established research suggests that the enhancement of other personality traits could lead to a reduction in craving. However, there is currently limited evidence to determine whether or not personality does influence this relationship. As a result, there is a need for further research into how personality is associated with food craving, in order to guide the development of future weight management services. I am a dietitian who specialises in weight management. The aim of this research is to determine if these relationships exist and to encourage the consideration of alternative ways to manage weight in overweight and obese individuals if they are found to. Are you looking for people like me? The research team is looking for non-smoking women (not pregnant or breastfeeding), aged between 18 – 65 years, with a body mass index of 25 and above, not suffering from an eating disorder and not taking medication for anxiety or depression. To work out your body mass index divide your current weight by your height (in metres squared). For example if you weigh 80kg and your height in metres is 1.75 metres: 80/ (1.75 x 1.75) = 80/ 3.06 = 26. Alternatively please use the following calculator: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/Content/your-bmi What will you ask me to do? If you are interested in taking part in this study, and meet the selection criteria above, you are invited to complete an online screening questionnaire. 1. The screening questionnaire is expected to take approximately 10 minutes. It consists of two questionnaires. One that measures your eating behaviour and the other that measures your personality. a. Please access the screening surveys here: http://survey.qut.edu.au/f/183399/1856/ b. To complete the surveys online, please place an identifying code on the survey that consists of the first 3 letters of your first name and your date of birth i.e. lyn00/00/00 c. 2. After completion of the screening process, you will be contacted and informed whether you are eligible or ineligible for the study. If you pass the screening component for this study and would like to continue in this research project, you will be invited to complete 3 x additional online questionnaires (15 minutes), prior to your attendance at the QUT, Kelvin Grove campus. a. Upon receipt of your completed survey, you will be contacted by the lead researcher and a time will be scheduled for you to undertake the testing session at QUT. ***Your attendance at QUT requires that you eat your usual breakfast (or a small snack) and then arrive fasted, 3.5 hours after your breakfast/snack (drinking water during this time is fine). You cannot be assessed if you have fasted for longer than 3.5 hours. 3. Schedule of expected testing procedure: a. b. c. d. e. f. Measures of weight, height and waist circumference will be taken Complete a behavioural task of your ability to inhibit or switch habitual behaviours. Complete a computer-based measure of how much you would like and want to consume some common food items x 2 Consume a nutritionally complete, meal replacement for lunch Complete 4 x appetite measures – i.e. to rate how hungry you are or to indicate whether you could eat more food at 7 different time-points. Consume common snack food items to provide ratings of how enjoyable you find them. 4. End of testing procedure – total testing time is expected to take a maximum of 2 hours. Are there any risks for me in taking part? The research team does not believe there are any risks beyond the inconvenience of completing the questionnaires and tasks, if you participate in this research. It should be noted that if you do agree to participate you can withdraw at any time during the project without comment or penalty. Are there any benefits for me in taking part? It is not expected that this project will benefit you directly. However, it is increasingly recognised that managing weight and eating behaviour is not simply about applying greater amounts of will power. This research aims to extend current knowledge beyond the idea of “applying will power” and “going on another diet” to successfully manage weight. Therefore, this research has been developed to explore, inform and subsequently assist in the development and design of highly targeted and effective weight management programs that empower, rather then disempower the individual. Will I be compensated for my time? You will be provided with a $25.00 gift voucher after completion of the laboratory experiment to compensate for your time. I am interested – what should I do next? If you would like to participate in this study, please email the principal researcher Lynette Mackey: [email protected] You will be provided with further information to ensure that your decision and consent to participate is fully informed. Thank You! QUT Ethics Approval Number: 1500000100