IWP Questionnaire (Weight Insight Score)

This questionnaire is designed to measure your opportunities for improvement in six key domains that affect body weight: your food environment, appetite, food reward (food seductiveness), sleep, physical activity, and psychological stress. We developed it for people who are interested in losing fat or avoiding fat gain. Please answer the questions below to the best of your ability. Results are free and you will not have to provide your email address or sign up for anything to receive them.

Section 1

Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I usually have visible food in my house that’s easy to grab and eat.
I have a lot of stress in my daily life.
I often eat too much rich food because I’m hungry.
I keep tempting foods in my pantry or refrigerator, such as potato chips, cookies, or ice cream.
I sit nearly all day at work.
I always have healthy food available in my kitchen.

Section 2

Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I often eat too much at meals because I have a big appetite.
I often eat too much between meals because I’m hungry.
At work, I often eat tempting food that other people bring in.
I often eat too much of foods because they taste great.
I often see food advertisements on TV or on my computer.

Section 3

Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I often eat foods because the sight or smell of them gives me a powerful urge to eat.
I keep food within arm’s reach of where I work.
I don’t sleep as much as I need to feel rested.
I feel that the quality of my sleep is poor.
I often eat delicious foods past the point when I’m full.
My typical meals don’t keep me full for very long.
When I walk past snack or dessert foods in the grocery store, I often get drawn in and buy something.

Section 4

Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I usually feel sleepy for several hours per day.
At least every few days, I eat unhealthy foods because I like them so much.
The stressful things in my life mostly feel out of my control.
I feel like a prisoner of the stressful things in my life.
I often watch TV, use my computer, or use other devices with light-emitting screens within an hour of bedtime.
I often give in to tempting foods like ice cream, pizza, chips, or chocolate.
I often work night shifts.

Section 5

A B C D E
How much time each week do you spend doing moderate-intensity activities, such as brisk walking or leisurely cycling?

A: almost none, B: 30 minutes, C: 1 hour, D: 2 hours, E: 3 or more hours
How much time each week do you spend doing vigorous-intensity activities such as running or playing basketball?

A: almost none, B: 15 minutes, C: 30 minutes, D: 1 hour, E: 1.5 hours or more
How often do you do strength-building activities like lifting weights?

A: almost never, B: once a month, C: twice a month, D: once a week, E: twice a week or more
How much time do you spend walking on a typical day, including around your home, yard, and at work?

A: very little, B: 30 minutes, C: 1 hour, D: 1.5 hours, E: 2 or more hours

Section 6

Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
I often eat too much because I feel stressed.
Getting up in the morning is a struggle for me.
I seldom feel full, even when I eat a lot of food.
I often snack on food just because it’s there, even if I’m not hungry.
When I feel stressed, I often use food to comfort myself.
I spend time outside in the morning or early afternoon on most days.
I have untreated sleep apnea, or another form of sleep-disordered breathing.

Understanding Your Results

Your score is ranked from zero (most room for improvement) to five (least room for improvement). It is also color coded as follows:

  • Red indicates that this is an area of opportunity for you to improve. You may benefit greatly by sharpening your skills here.
  • Yellow means that you are already doing some things well in this area but there is still room to improve.
  • Green means you are already doing well in this area. You may still benefit somewhat from sharpening your skills here.

Your score reflects behaviors across six key domains that impact body weights:

  1. Food environment: Reflects how you manage and react to food cues in your surroundings.
  2. Appetite: Reflects how much hunger drives excess food intake in your daily life.
  3. Food reward: Reflects how much cravings and food seductiveness drive excess food intake in your daily life.
  4. Sleep: Reflects your behaviors that support restorative sleep.
  5. Physical activity: Reflects your physical activity level and sedentary behavior.
  6. Psychological stress: Reflects your ability to manage psychological stress, and whether it drives excess eating in your daily life.

Using Your Results

Write down the names of the domains that are Yellow or Red for you. These are your greatest opportunities for improvement. Now that you know where you can improve, how are you going to apply it?

The Ideal Weight Program is a course-based weight management system that explains how each of these six domains affects your body weight and teaches practical strategies for sustainable fat loss and maintenance. Designed by researchers and based on the best that weight management science has to offer, the Ideal Weight Program creates and maintains key behaviors that support your weight goals through diet guidelines, lifestyle advice, tracking, and feedback. Now is the time to take your first steps toward your ideal weight!

As you progress through the Ideal Weight Program, pay special attention to these domains—they may provide you with the greatest results for your efforts. Despite this, we encourage you to take all the courses and work on your skills in all six domains to some extent. If you think you can benefit by sharpening your skills in an area you already perform well in, don’t hesitate to do so.