The Influence of Cake

This Power-of-Food Scale helps assess how prone you are to ‘hedonic’ eating. Specify from 1-5 which of the following best represents you:

1 Don’t agree at all

2 Agree a little

3 Agree to some extent

4 Agree

5 Strongly agree

1. I discover myself thinking about food items even when I’m not actually hungry.

2. I receive more satisfaction from eating than I do from almost anything else.

3. If I see or smell the aromas of a food I really like, I get a strong urge to get some.

4. When I’m close to a fattening food I love, it’s hard to stop myself from at least sampling it.

5. It’s fearsome to think of the dominance that food has over me.

6. If I know a tasty food is to be had, I can’t help myself from thinking about having some.

7. I take great delight in the taste of numerous foods so much that I can’t avoid eating them even if they’re bad for me.

8. Just before I taste a favorite food, I experience intensive expectation.

9. When I eat delectable food I really concentrate a lot on how great it tastes.

10. Oftentimes, when I’m carrying out daily activities, I get an urge to eat “out of the blue” (for no obvious rationale).

11. I think I enjoy eating a lot more than the majority of individuals.

12. Hearing a person discuss a great meal makes me really want to have something to eat.

13. It feels like I have food on my mind a lot.

14. It’s very essential to me that the foods I eat are as flavorful as possible.

15. Just before I eat a well liked food my mouth has a tendency to flood with saliva.

Scoring: Add up your answers and divide the sum by 15.

1.0 - 2.3 You’re not likely to be preoccupied with food or lose control over eating.

2.4 - 3.6 You’re somewhat preoccupied with food but are unlikely to have a concern unless you’re considerably obese.

3.7 - 5.0 You’re frequently preoccupied with food and at risk of surrendering control over your eating. This is particularly a problem if you are likewise extremely overweight.