Restrained eating: an experimental disentanglement of the disinhibiting variables of perceived calories and food type

Article Abstract:

Weight control, in addition to becoming a national obsession, is also one of the few ways in which an individual may exert direct control over his own health. Unfortunately, both the psychology and physiology governing eating are surprisingly complex. In an effort to unravel some of the influences which may lead to breaking one's diet, or even to binge eating, psychologists have examined the eating behavior of people who rated high on restrained eating and those rated low. In previous studies, subjects were given two, one, or no milkshakes followed by a meal. Subjects who were unrestrained eaters ate the most on the no-milkshake category and least in the two-milkshake category. Restrained eaters, on the other hand, ate more after they had drunk milkshakes than when they had not. One possible explanation for this phenomenon is that once a restrained eater has "broken" the diet, there are no longer any rules restraining further eating. In order to clarify this phenomenon, the nature of the food, not simply its caloric content, was taken into account. In a survey of eaters, 149 foods were rated as permissible or forbidden; the number of foods listed as forbidden correlated positively with the score on the restraint questionnaire. Forbidden foods are more likely to result in loss of restraint by a dieter than an equivalent caloric intake of permissible foods. Further study demonstrated that actually eating the food was not necessary; only expecting to eat a forbidden food resulted in loss of restraint. Thus restrained eaters who were given crackers and told that they would be expected to drink a milkshake ate more crackers than those who were told that they would be expected to eat a salad. Once the abstinence from forbidden foods has been violated, there is no longer any psychological barrier to increased consumption by the dieter. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Case studies, Obesity, Weight loss, Diet, Food habits

---

Film-induced negative affect triggers overeating in restrained eaters

Article Abstract:

Restrained eaters are people who chronically restrict what they eat to avoid gaining weight. Some research has suggested that these individuals may be at high risk for binge-eating episodes if their strict dietary self-control is lost. Factors that may influence the loss of these control mechanisms include alcohol consumption, eating a forbidden food, or strong negative emotions. To examine the effect of a powerful mood induction that produced negative affect (mood), 60 women with an average age of 30 were evaluated and rated as 'low restraint' or 'high restraint' with regard to eating. The subjects were randomly assigned to view either a 20-minute horror film or a neutral film. All of the subjects were given popcorn (with salt and butter) during both films. The subjects were told that they would be evaluated for the effect, if any, the film had on their mood. They were not told that their eating was to be monitored, and were urged to consume as little or as much of the popcorn as they liked. The results showed that the frightening film, as compared with the neutral film, significantly increased food consumption in the restrained eaters. The unrestrained eaters shown the horror film ate less popcorn than the restrained eaters, but the amount they ate was not significantly less. The authors concluded that the theory that overeating in restrained subjects can be induced by negative affect was supported. The clinical implications of these findings include that people who may be vulnerable to binge-eating during negative emotional arousal should be kept in mind when diet programs are devised. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Causes of, Mood (Psychology), Affect (Psychology)

---

Mothers, daughters, and disordered eating

Article Abstract:

Adolescent and young adult women have the highest rate of eating disorders. It is known that the family system plays an influential role in these developmental stages, but the specific involvement of family in the development of eating disorders is less clear. To study mother-daughter relationships and their role in the development of eating disorders, 77 high school girls and their mothers were evaluated. They completed questionnaires designed to identify patterns of family relationships and adaptation to conflict, the occurrence of eating disorders, and data on mothers' and daughters' weight, diet, and appearance. In one group (39 mother-daughter pairs), daughters were diagnosed as having an eating disorder, while girls in the other group were normal in this regard (38 mother-daughter pairs). It was found that family cohesion and adaptability did not differ between the groups, but maternal satisfaction with these factors did. Mothers of those in the eating disorder group wanted significantly more family cohesion than they had, as compared with the other mothers. Mothers of eating disordered girls were more likely than other mothers to be eating disordered themselves, while on non-eating-related measures both groups of mothers were similar. Mothers of eating disordered girls also thought their daughters needed to lose significantly more weight than mothers of normal girls. The results are consistent with other studies that have focused on the general functioning of the family system. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Teenage girls, Mothers and daughters, Mother-daughter relations, Mothers

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Organizational Context and Upward Influence: An Experimental Study of the Use of Power Tactics. Upward influence activity in strategic decision making
• Abstracts: Attitudes about the work group: an added moderator of the relationship between leader behavior and job satisfaction
• Abstracts: The Delphi technique: an empirical evaluation of the optimal number of rounds. The social information processing model of task design: conflicting cues and individual differences
• Abstracts: The role of depression in couples involved in murder-suicide and homicide. The presumptive role of fantasy in serial sexual homicide
• Abstracts: Media distortion of the public's perception of recidivism and psychiatric rehabilitation. Assessing symptom change in Southeast Asian refugee survivors of mass violence and torture

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.