Background and objectives: Mindful eating defines a non-judgmental awareness of the physical and emotional sensations experienced while eating. Studies show promising evidence of an association with healthier eating behavior and lower weight status. There are several scales assessing different dimensions of mindful eating, but none of them allow for the calculation of an overall mindful eating score and they omit important aspects commonly accepted as part of the general mindfulness concept. Our objective was therefore to develop and validate a scale assessing the level of mindful eating in the general population.

Methods: Items were created and administered to a representative sample of the general population of the NutriNet-Santé cohort. The construct validity was assessed with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Goodness of fit was assessed by five indices: chi-square by degrees of freedom index, Comparative Fit Index, Tucker-Lewis Index, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual. Convergent validity was estimated by correlation with other closely related scales. Discriminant validity was assessed in groups of individuals with varied sociodemographic and lifestyle profiles. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were examined.

Results: An exploratory factor analysis was performed on a subsample of 1304 individuals and highlighted six dimensions: time/pleasure, hunger/satiety, non-reactivity, non-judgment, openness, gratitude, with four items per dimension. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted on another subsample of 1306 individuals revealed a good fit of the model for the fives indices. Mindful eating scores were higher for men and older individuals. A higher mindful eating score was associated with a lower score of cognitive restriction, and depression, and with a higher score of mindfulness, self-esteem, satisfaction with life, optimism, gratitude, and resilience. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was satisfactory with the McDonald's Omega. The test-retest reliability showed a good intraclass correlation coefficient for the six dimensions.

Discussion: This study validated the first tool allowing the calculation of a global score of mindful eating, and its six dimensions in a general population. This work opens the way to clinical and epidemiological research on this topic in the upcoming years.