Same, same but different: Executive functioning and eating behavior profiles among weight management participants

Executive functions (EF) are associated with weight management, yet the two common ways of measuring them, cognitive tasks and self-report questionnaires of everyday functioning, rarely agree. The present study examined whether combining both types of measures reveals distinct profiles of EF and how these relate to age, body mass index (BMI), and eating behaviors. Methods: Adults enrolled in a behavioral weight-loss intervention (N = 277; 84% women; mean BMI 33.9 kg/m²) completed diverse cognitive tasks tapping EF, the BRIEF-A, and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Bayesian factor analyses captured task-based (inhibitory control, working memory) and self-reported (behavioral regulation, emotional regulation, metacognition) EF latent factors, which were entered into a latent profile analysis with age, BMI, and restrained, emotional, and external eating. Results: Task-based and self-reported EF factors were essentially uncorrelated. Three profiles emerged (entropy = 0.82): (i) higher EF task performance with few self-reported difficulties, (ii) lower EF task performance with few self-reported difficulties in older participants, and (iii) average EF task performance with more self-reported difficulties and the highest emotional and external eating. BMI and restrained eating were similar across profiles. Conclusions: Adults with similar BMI had distinct combinations of cognitive performance, everyday executive difficulties, and eating behaviors. Emotional and external eating were linked to self-reported EF difficulties rather than EF task performance, suggesting that self-report EF measures add clinically relevant information. Future work should test whether these profiles predict adherence and weight loss.