Eating behavior of transgender people on hormoneuse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2025.84009Keywords:
Transgender people. Eating behavior. Craving. Mindful eating. Food neophobia.Abstract
Introduction: Hormone use among transgender individuals influences physical, biological, and psychological factors, which, in turn, affect eating behavior. Objective: To investigate eating behavior and characteristics of food craving, mindful eating, and food neophobia in transgender men and women. Methods: The study included 38 transgender individuals, 25 trans men and 13 trans women, all matched by age with cisgender individuals. Data collection was conducted online, and participants completed the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), the Food Craving Questionnaire-State (FCQ-S) and short Trait version (FCQ-T), the Mindful Eating Scale (MES), and the Food Neophobia Scale. Results: The eating behavior, food craving, mindful eating, and food neophobia of transgender individuals resembled both their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. Similar patterns were observed in emotional eating, external eating, and dietary restraint, and the majority of transgender individuals (60.53%) showed neutrality regarding food neophobia. Conclusion: From this perspective, the findings suggest no significant differences in the influence of hormone use on the eating behavior of transgender individuals and their characteristics of food craving, mindful eating, and food neophobia. The results highlight the impact of social and psychological factors on the eating patterns of the studied population, as well as the importance of appropriate professional support, with an inclusive and competent approach, to ensure comprehensive care.
Downloads
References
1. Reis T, organizador. Manual de Comunicação LGBTI+ [Internet]. Curitiba: Aliança Nacional LGBTI / GayLatino; 2018 [Acesso 12 fev 2021]. Disponível em: https://www.grupodignidade.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/manual-comunicacao-LGBTI.pdf
2. Bento BA de M. O que é transexualidade. São Paulo: Brasiliense; 2008.
3. Caravaca-Morera JA, Padilha MI. A realidade transexual desde a perspectiva histórica e cis-heteronormativa. Hist Enferm Rev Eletronica [Internet]. 2015;6(2):310-8 [Acesso 15 fev 2021]. Disponível em: https://periodicos.abennacional.org.br/here/article/view/329
4. Zucchi EM, Barros CRDS, Redoschi BRL, Deus LFA de, Veras MASM. Bem-estar psicológico entre travestis e mulheres transexuais no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Cad Saude Publica [Internet]. 2019;35(3):e00064618 https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00064618
5. Diemer EW, Grant JD, Munn-Chernoff MA, Patterson DA, Duncan AE. Gender identity, sexual orientation, and eating-related pathology in a national sample of college students. J Adolesc Health [Internet]. 2015;57(2):144-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.03.003
6. Millet N, Longworth J, Arcelus J. Prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders in the transgender population: a systematic review of the literature. Int J Transgend [Internet]. 2017;18(1):27-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2016.1258353
7. Nagata JM, Ganson KT, Austin SB. Emerging trends in eating disorders among sexual and gender minorities. Curr Opin Psychiatry [Internet]. 2020;33(6):562-7. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0000000000000645
8. Quaioti TCB, Almeida S de S. Determinantes psicobiológicos do comportamento alimentar: uma ênfase em fatores ambientais que contribuem para a obesidade. Psicol USP [Internet]. 2006;17(4):193-211 https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65642006000400011
9. Viana V, Sinde S. Estilo alimentar: adaptação e validação do Questionário Holandês do Comportamento Alimentar. Psicol Teor Invest [Internet]. 2003;26(1):59-71 [Acesso 2 abr 2021]. Disponível em: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236649218_ESTILO_ALIMENTAR_Adaptacao_e_validacao_do_Questionario_Holandes_do_Comportamento_Alimentar
10. Queiroz de Medeiros AC, Yamamoto ME, Pedrosa LFC, Hutz CS. Brazilian version of food craving questionnaires: psychometric properties and sex differences. Appetite [Internet]. 2016;105:328-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.06.003
11. Russomanno J, Patterson JG, Jabson Tree JM. Social media recruitment of marginalized, hard-to-reach populations: development of recruitment and monitoring guidelines. JMIR Public Health Surveill [Internet]. 2019;5(4):e14886. https://doi.org/10.2196/14886
12. Hulbert-Williams L, Nicholls W, Joy J, Hulbert-Williams N. Initial validation of the Mindful Eating Scale. Mindfulness [Internet]. 2014;5(6):719-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-013-0227-5
13. Ferreira DQC. Avaliação da neofobia alimentar, imagem corporal e autoestima de adultos submetidos à cirurgia bariátrica [tese]. Natal: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; 2018 [Acesso 22 abr 2021]. Disponível em: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/jspui/handle/123456789/26217
14. Haukoos JS, Lewis RJ. Advanced statistics: bootstrapping confidence intervals for statistics with “difficult” distributions. Acad Emerg Med [Internet]. 2005;12(4):360-5. https://doi.org/10.1197/j.aem.2004.11.018
15. Coelho JS, Suen J, Clark BA, Marshall SK, Geller J, Lam P. Eating disorder diagnoses and symptom presentation in transgender youth: a scoping review. Curr Psychiatry Rep [Internet]. 2019;21(11):107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1097-x
16. Hallama J, Boswella RG, DeVito EE, Kober H. Gender-related differences in food craving and obesity. Yale J Biol Med [Internet]. 2016;89(2):161-73 [Acesso 24jul 2021]. Disponível em: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4918881/
17. Fisher AD, Castellini G, Bandini E. Cross-sex hormonal treatment and body uneasiness in individuals with gender dysphoria. J Sex Med [Internet]. 2014;11(3):709-19. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsm.12413
18. Jones BA, Haycraft E, Murjan S, Arcelus J. Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in trans people: a systematic review of the literature. Int Rev Psychiatry [Internet]. 2016;28(1):81-94. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2015.1089217
19. Jones BA, Haycraft E, Arcelus J, Bouman WP, Brewin N, Claes L, et al. Risk factors for eating disorder psychopathology within the treatment-seeking transgender population: the role of cross-sex hormone treatment. Eur Eat Disord Rev [Internet]. 2018;26(2):120-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.2576
20. Gomes SM, Jacob MCM, Rocha C, Medeiros MFA, Noro LRA. Expanding the limits of sex: a systematic review concerning food and nutrition in transgender populations. Public Health Nutr [Internet]. 2021;24(18):6136-48. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980021001671
21. Hendricks ML, Testa RJ. A conceptual framework for clinical work with transgender and gender nonconforming clients: an adaptation of the minority stress model. Prof Psychol Res Pract [Internet]. 2012;43(5):460-7. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029597
22. Colizzi M, Costa R, Todarello O. Transsexual patients’ psychiatric comorbidity and positive effect of cross-sex hormonal treatment on mental health: results from a longitudinal study. Psychoneuroendocrinology [Internet]. 2014;39:65-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.09.029
23. Hughto JMW, Reisner SL, Pachankis JE. Transgender stigma and health: a critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Soc Sci Med [Internet]. 2015;147:222-31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.11.010
24. Koch JM, McLachlan C, Victor CJ, Westcott J, Yager C. The cost of being transgender: where socio-economic status, global healthcare systems, and gender identity intersect. Psychol Sex [Internet]. 2020;11(1-2):103-19 https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2019.1660705
25. Machado JG, Araújo JM, Santos CCS. Comportamento alimentar e avaliação nutricional em população trans de um ambulatório LGBT de Recife. Rev Atenção Saúde São Caetano do Sul [Internet]. 2020;18(66):25-39 [Acesso 25jun 2021]. Disponível em: https://seer.uscs.edu.br/index.php/revista-saude/article/view/7336
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Renata Samali Dantas de Souza, Joana Sabino da Silva, Sávio Marcelino Gomes, Thaiz Mattos Sureira
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP RESPONSIBILITY
Title of the manuscript:
________________________________________________________
1. Statement of responsability
I certify that I have participated in the work above specified and take public responsibility for its content.
I certify that the manuscript represents an original work and that none of the material in the manuscript has been previously published, is included in another manuscript, or is currently under consideration for publication elsewhere, whether in printed form or in electronic media, except that described in the attachment.
In case of acceptance of this text by Demetra: Alimentação, Nutrição & Saude, I declare to be in accordance with the policy of public access and copyright adopted by Demetra, which provides as follows: (a) the authors retain the copyright and grant to the Journal the right of first publication, the work being simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal; (b) authors are authorized to enter additional contracts separately for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (eg, publishing in institutional repository or book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal; and (c) authors are permitted and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (eg, in institutional repositories or on their personal page) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this may lead to productive changes, as well as increase the impact and citation of the published work.
2. Conflict of Interest Statement
I certify that there is no conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.
Date, signature and full address of all authors.
