Intuitive Eating

Abstract

Intuitive eating involves being connected to, trusting in, and responding to the body’s internal hunger and satiety cues. This chapter first details the 10 principles of intuitive eating. Next, the chapter reviews the original and revised Intuitive Eating Scale (the IES and IES-2, respectively), which have been shown to yield reliable and valid scores in samples across different cultures. The chapter then discusses research and interventions on intuitive eating, revealing that it is an adaptive way of eating and living. The chapter ends with seven insights gleaned from intuitive eating research that can be used to situate and guide future investigations. Specifically, intuitive eating is grounded in body acceptance, is dependent on trust in internal body cues, is sabotaged for some individuals, is nurtured in autonomy-supportive environments, is intricately connected to self-compassion, can be taught (even among those with eating disorders), and is not positively associated with overeating.