Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) — Nutrition and Diet Assessment
Likert-scale assessment of restrained, emotional and external eating styles.
The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) is a validated Likert-scale assessment designed to measure three key eating styles: restrained eating, emotional eating, and external eating. This Nutrition and Diet quiz helps individuals and professionals quickly identify eating patterns that influence weight management, mood-related eating, and responses to food cues. Using the DEBQ in a nutrition context provides insight into behavioral drivers behind food choice, cravings, and overeating.
Complete the DEBQ to better understand your eating behaviors and how they relate to emotional triggers, environmental food cues, and conscious restriction. Results from this Nutrition and Diet test can guide personalized strategies—such as mindful eating, environmental adjustments, or clinical support—to improve overall eating habits. The DEBQ is quick, evidence-based, and ideal for anyone interested in eating styles, weight management, or nutritional wellbeing.
Do you deliberately eat less than you would like to lose weight or to control your figure?
Measures restrained (dieting) behavior.
Do you have the desire to eat when you are irritated or in a bad mood?
Measures emotional eating in response to negative mood.
Do you have the desire to eat when you see or smell delicious food around you?
Measures external eating triggered by cues.
Do you deliberately eat less in order to avoid gaining weight?
Restrained eating related to weight control.
Do you eat more than usual when you are stressed or under pressure?
Emotional overeating under stress.
Do you find yourself eating even when you're not physically hungry because food is available?
External eating behavior.
Do you try to eat less at mealtimes than you would like to?
Frequency of conscious restriction at meals.
Do you feel like eating when you are worried or anxious?
Emotional eating linked to anxiety.
Do you want to eat when you see others eating or at social gatherings?
External eating influenced by social cues.
Do you carefully watch the number of calories you eat?
Restrained attention to caloric intake.
Do you eat when you are lonely or feel isolated?
Emotional eating tied to loneliness.
Do attractive food advertisements or displays make you want to eat?
External stimuli prompting eating.
Do you avoid certain foods deliberately to control your weight?
Restrained avoidance of specific foods.
When you are irritated or frustrated, do you find yourself eating more?
Emotional eating with irritability.
Do you want to eat tasty foods even if you have just eaten?
External cue-driven desire for palatable foods.
Do you skip meals intentionally to control your weight?
Restrained behavior through meal skipping.
Do you eat when you feel happy or want to celebrate?
Emotional eating in response to positive emotions.
Do you eat more when food is easy to get or placed in front of you?
External accessibility leading to increased intake.
Do you weigh the pros and cons before you decide to eat certain foods?
Cognitive restraint and decision-making about food.
Do you find that feeling depressed or down leads you to eat more?
Emotional eating linked to low mood.
Do you find that seeing a variety of foods makes you want to taste them all?
External cue sensitivity to variety and availability.
Do you always try to limit portion sizes to control your weight?
Restrained portion control behavior.
Do you eat when you are bored even if you don't feel physically hungry?
Emotional/extraneous eating due to boredom.
Do you eat more when food smells particularly good?
External olfactory cues prompting eating.
Do you avoid eating certain foods in public to control your intake?
Public restraint and social control of eating.
Does feeling lonely or abandoned lead you to eat for comfort?
Emotional eating for comfort/seeking solace.
Do you tend to eat more when foods are presented attractively (e.g., beautifully arranged)?
External visual appeal increasing intake.
Do you count or restrict certain macronutrients (e.g., carbs, fats) to control your weight?
Nutrient-specific restrained eating behavior.
Do you eat more when you feel guilty about something else in your life?
Emotional eating linked to guilt or self-criticism.
Do you find it difficult to resist eating tasty food when it's within reach?
External proximity-driven eating impulse.
Do you eat more when you are tense or nervous?
Emotional eating associated with tension.
Do you find that emotional states strongly influence what and how much you eat?
General emotional eating influence on intake.
Do you eat to forget worries or avoid thinking about problems?
Emotional avoidance through eating.
Frequently asked questions
The DEBQ is a validated self-report Likert-scale questionnaire designed to assess three eating styles: restrained eating (dieting and food restriction), emotional eating (eating in response to emotions), and external eating (eating in response to external food cues). It is commonly used in nutrition, clinical, and research settings.
This DEBQ-based Nutrition and Diet quiz contains 33 items and typically takes 5–10 minutes to complete, depending on how reflective you are about each statement.
No. The DEBQ measures eating styles and tendencies but is not a diagnostic tool for specific eating disorders. High scores may indicate patterns that warrant further evaluation by a qualified healthcare professional such as a registered dietitian, psychologist, or physician.
Your results provide subscale totals for restrained, emotional, and external eating. Higher scores indicate stronger tendencies in that domain. Use the results to guide behavioral strategies—for instance, addressing emotional triggers or reducing exposure to tempting cues. See the results section for actionable recommendations.
Yes. Retake the DEBQ after implementing new strategies or lifestyle changes—commonly after 4–8 weeks—to track progress. Repeat testing can help evaluate whether interventions like therapy, mindful eating, or environmental adjustments are effective.
This quiz itself does not store or transmit data unless the platform you use implements storage. Check the platform's privacy policy for details. For personal use, consider saving your results privately or sharing them only with trusted professionals.
Anyone curious about their eating patterns—especially individuals managing weight, experiencing cravings, or noticing mood-related eating—may benefit from the DEBQ. Healthcare professionals also use it to inform treatment planning.
Scoring high on multiple subscales suggests complex interactions (e.g., emotional eating compounded by sensitivity to food cues). A combined approach—addressing emotional coping skills and modifying the food environment—usually works best. Consult a professional for personalized guidance.
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