--- - |2 Abstract The aim of this study was to validate the Adult Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (AEBQ), a measure of food approach and avoidant traits, for use in bariatric surgery candidates. Participants were 337 bariatric surgery candidates in the Mid‐Atlantic United States. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that one item did not load onto its original factor. A 34‐item, eight‐factor model had better fit than a seven‐factor model; dropping the Hunger factor, as previously suggested, did not improve fit. The factors had good internal consistency and showed convergent/divergent validity with an existing measure of food approach traits. The emotional overeating scale was positively correlated with BMI at programme entry, whereas the slow eating scale was negatively correlated with baseline weight. The AEBQ scales had the same pattern of intercorrelations and similar means to those of two previously published samples. The AEBQ is a valid measure of appetitive traits in bariatric candidates. - European Eating Disorders Review, EarlyView.