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INTRODUCTION: Restrained, emotional and intuitive eating were examined in relation to each other and as correlates of participants' weight status, body image and self-esteem. In some past research, restrained and emotional eating have been associated with higher weight status and poorer mental health, while intuitive eating is more frequently linked to lower weight status and more positive well-being. However, these eating styles have rarely been examined together and never in a large cross-country sample. METHOD: Six-thousand two-hundred and seventy-two (6272) emerging adults (M age = 21.54 years, SD = 3.13) completed scales from the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire, the Intuitive Eating Scale-2, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and provided weight and height information that was used to calculate body mass index (BMI). Participants resided in Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Spain and the United States and provided information using an online survey. RESULTS: Path analyses for the entire sample revealed significant pathways between higher intuitive eating and higher body satisfaction and self-esteem, and lower BMIs among participants. Higher levels of restrained and emotional eating were associated with lower body satisfaction and self-esteem, and higher BMIs among participants. Minor cross-country differences were evident in these patterns of relations, but intuitive eating emerged as a consistent predictor across countries. CONCLUSION: Overall, findings suggest that efforts should be made to increase intuitive eating among emerging adults and to support individual and macrolevel interventions to decrease restrained and emotional eating behaviours. ispartof: BRITISH JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY vol:28 issue:1 pages:136-155 ispartof: location:England status: published

This research explores two potential predictors of body weight and eating attitudes in University students. These two predictors are outlined below. Child autonomy University students are shown to have worse diet quality compared to their diet prior to attending University (Deliens et al., 2021), and tend to gain weight notably faster than the general population (Vandeboncoeur et al., 2015). Subsequently, this highlights the importance of investigating the eating behaviour of University students. Students' poorer dietary quality may be the consequence of a range of direct influences that arise from the destabilisation of routine and increased freedom while at University. Qualitative studies have found that students report influences such as the absence of time, lack of self-control and increased accessibility of unhealthy food choices to be key determinants in the decline of their diet quality (Deliens et al., 2014). This ultimately highlights that students are ill-prepared for the increased autonomy they experience at University. Students enter into a process of learning to be independent in their food choices, which includes realising that factors such as the time and effort of preparing food, and the budget available for purchasing food are important considerations. Research looking at University students' eating behaviour has explored elements of emotional eating (EE) and restrained eating (RE), with these behaviours being established as reliable predictors of BMI status in adults (Lowe & Levine, 2005). EE refers to overeating when faced with usually negative emotions including stress, sadness or irritability (van Strien et al., 2007). EE is typically correlated with greater levels of binge eating especially of unhealthy, calorie-dense foods, which results in a poorer diet quality (Ricca et al., 2009), and a subsequent increase in BMI (Geliebter & Aversa, 2003). RE is defined as the consistent engagement in calorie restriction with the motivation to lose weight or maintain weight loss (Polivy et al., 2020). This measure of RE reflects an individual’s intention to reduce calorie intake, meaning it is not necessarily related to the actual behaviour of reducing calories consumed. This is an important distinction due to research highlighting the nature of RE often results in a binge-restrict cycle, in which the individual tends to maintain or gain weight as opposed to losing weight (Lowe & Levine, 2005). A previous study in University students showed that EE and cognitive restraint were positively correlated and associated with an increase in BMI (Kowalkowska & Poínhos, 2021; Poínhos et al., 2015). This highlights that EE and RE are behaviours which can significantly impact the BMI of students. Considering the destabilisation of routine experienced by students and their increased risk of rapid weight gain (Vandeboncoeur et al., 2015), it is important to investigate which factors prior to attending University may promote students to become more resilient to the transition to University (Deliens et al., 2021). One way of investigating links between childhood experiences and their relation to eating behaviour in University students is via retrospective methods. There is extensive research into the influence of parents, which is logical considering that parents and guardians are the primary influence on a child's food environment for the first few years of life (Stifter et al., 2011). It is understood that pressuring a child to consume certain food types can promote obesogenic behaviours such as reduced fruit and vegetable intake (Fisher et al., 2002). Additionally, restricting a child in the foods they eat can lead to the 'forbidden fruit effect' in which the child is more motivated to consume the forbidden foods upon their unlimited availability (Fisher and Birch, 1999). From a broader view, it is posited that pressuring or restricting a child's food choices can lead to the child becoming more susceptible to overeating beyond feelings of satiation (Birch et al., 2003) and eating in response to negative emotions (Stone et al., 2022). The latter association could be inferred as the emergence of EE behaviours. These parental behaviours have been linked to later life dietary outcomes such as the presence of RE, and subsequent overeating (Brunstrom et al., 2005), greater risk of obesity (Klesges et al., 1992) and EE (Tan et al., 2016). Therefore, parental control may be an important predictor of a child's current and subsequent eating behaviour, and especially of a child's engagement in restrictive or emotional eating. Child autonomy is allowing the child greater control over their own behaviour (Rueth et al., 2016). Autonomy has been associated with better outcomes in other areas of research such as engagement with learning (Grolnick & Ryan, 1987), well-being (van der Kaap-Deeder et al., 2017) and prosocial behaviour (Rueth et al., 2016). However, there is less understanding of its role in eating behaviour. Mogharreban & Nahikian-Nelms (1996) highlight that allowing the child to do things for themselves and be independent within the safety of parental support can lead to greater child autonomy. Child autonomy and parental control often share a positive bidirectional relationship. For example, parents may plan a meal to ensure the child is offered adequate nutrition, but by allowing the child the opportunity to assist with the food shop, help prepare and serve the meal, and terminate eating upon fullness, all of which facilitate autonomy (Tan et al., 2016; Mogharreban & Nahikian-Nelms, 1996). This parental behaviour would constitute covert control, in which the parent's influence on the child's behaviour is undetectable to the child (Tan et al., 2016), and allows the child to perceive greater autonomy. This demonstrates that whilst the parents control the foods being offered, the opportunity for the child to have a choice has a bearing on consumption, particularly with healthy foods. Without these parental boundaries, the child could engage in counterproductive eating behaviours, likely including avoidance of fruit and vegetables, which is a behaviour often witnessed in children (Holley et al., 2017). In support of this, Mogharreban & Nahikian-Nelms (1996) highlight that whilst the child engaging in the behaviour themselves is the best way to learn and develop autonomy, the parent maintains an important role in modelling and ensuring a safe environment for the child to learn. Subsequently, these autonomous behaviours, paired with modelling positive mealtime interactions, aid in offering healthy eating guidance to the child. As a result, the child has the opportunity to learn about making healthier food choices and accept these foods into their diet, linking to more positive dietary outcomes such as increased vegetable consumption (Tan et al., 2016). However, too much parental influence in the form of excessive parental control can be associated with negative eating outcomes such as refusal to eat certain foods (Fisher et al., 2002) and difficulty in regulating own intake (Faith et al., 2004). Therefore, it may be more important that parents provide children with guidance to make healthier food choices, rather than controlling the foods children have access to. This research aims to understand how levels of childhood autonomy and guidance from parental figures can predict eating behaviour in University students. It utilises measures of child autonomy in regard to how much control the child has over their own behaviour, and healthy eating guidance provided to the child by parents. Assessing and comparing the two measures helps to unpick the nature of child autonomy. If child autonomy and healthy eating guidance are not positively correlated, it would suggest that autonomy is a negative measure which reflects the individual lacking attention and education from parents. Ultimately, it is important to explore behaviours that can promote improved eating outcomes, with Pokorski et al. (2022) suggesting that positive eating behaviours are likely more stable over time. Regarding the effect of autonomy on University students, this research proposes that by allowing a child more autonomy, they will suffer less with the displacement and independence from University, and subsequently have better eating behaviour at University than those with lower reports of childhood autonomy. This is because they will have developed independence prior to University, having already experienced responsibility surrounding food, making the change in eating lifestyle less prominent. Mindful Eating Mindfulness is a taught practice, which entails paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and surroundings in the present moment with a non-judgemental stance (Davis et al., 2008). The practice of mindfulness has been extremely effective in helping people live more in the present and as a method of managing health issues such as chronic pain, depression, and anxiety (Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012). More recently, research has shown mindfulness practice to have a significant effect on both eating habits and weight loss. As a consequence, researchers in nutrition have begun to link the practice of mindfulness to eating via the development of a concept known as mindful eating. The process of eating is complex, however, and there are a number of mechanisms that could potentially be attributed to the concept of mindful eating. As a consequence, problems have arisen in establishing a holistic and consistent definition. Despite this, a commonly accepted definition of mindful eating is the present moment awareness and focusing of attention on both physical and emotional sensations whilst eating (Albers, 2008). Furthermore, a recent review by Tapper, (2021) identified six practices most commonly related to mindful eating in the literature. These were as follows: 1. The present moment awareness of the sensory properties of food. - This is described as being attentive to the smell, texture, sight, taste, and temperature of food whilst you consume it. This practice is often taught through a short raisin exercise (Arch et al., 2016), where you're prompted to eat a raisin mindfully through the present moment awareness of senses such as smell, texture, sight, taste, and temperature whilst you are eating. 2. Present Moment awareness of internal bodily sensations relating to hunger, fullness and eating - This is being attentive to the differing bodily sensations and feelings of hunger and fullness, that come with consuming different types of food. This practice is often taught through body scans (Palascha et al., 2021), whereby you are prompted to mentally scan your body from head to toe whilst eating bringing awareness to any sensations you may feel. 3. Acceptance of cravings - This is the practice of observing and exploring food cravings through a non-judgemental stance, instead of trying to ignore or control them. This practice is often taught through a technique known as urge surfing (Jenkins and Tapper 2014), where you are taught not to give in to your urges but instead ride them out until the urge eventually passes on its own. 4. Acceptance and/or decentering from food-related thoughts - This is the practice of being attentive to food-related thoughts such as ‘I may as well eat the whole lot’ and viewing them in a non-judgemental stance and/or as thoughts separate from oneself. This practice can be taught through a technique known as the mind bus (Tapper & Ahmad 2018) whereby you imagine yourself as the bus and view your thoughts as just passengers that ride along with you. 5. Present moment awareness of cues that elicit eating or the urge to eat - This is the awareness of cues that prompt the urge to eat (e.g., an open packet of crisps) or generate eliciting feelings such as hunger or cravings (e.g., the smell of cookies). As well as, attending to introspective cues such as low mood and thoughts of eating. This practice is taught through daily self-monitoring (Martin et al 2017), whereby you are required to routinely observe and record your body's feelings, emotions, thoughts, and behaviours towards food daily. 6. Decentering from cravings - This is the adoption of a detached perspective on cravings, viewing them as thoughts separate from oneself. This practice is often taught through an exercise known as leaves on a stream (Wilson et al 2021) whereby each time you notice a thought, sensation or feeling, regardless of whether they are good or bad, you imagine placing it on a leaf and letting it float down a stream. A valid measurement of mindful eating is essential in researching its possible effects. The development of such a measure is difficult due to the practices composing mindful eating still being unclear in the literature. As a consequence, there is significant variation across mindful eating measures developed so far, despite intending to measure the same construct. Two established mindful eating measures identified in the literature are the MEQ (Framson et al., 2009) and the MEI (Peitz et al., 2021). The MEQ is the first developed and most commonly used measure of mindful eating in the literature. It’s a 28-item measure with five subscales relating to awareness, distraction, emotional response, external cues, and inhibition. However, there are concerns about the use of this measure, as it shows overlap with other constructs like emotional and external eating and fails to measure some key practices such as awareness of eating motives. The MEI on the other hand is a more recent measure of mindful eating, which incorporates questions from previous measures (e.g., MEQ), and expands these by incorporating additional practices which have been found to be associated with mindful eating. MEI is a 30-item scale with seven subscales relating to awareness of senses whilst eating, connectedness, awareness of eating triggers and motives, acceptance of one's own eating experience, eating in response to the awareness of fullness, non-reactive stance and focused attention on eating. Thus, the MEI although not as commonly used as the MEQ is a far more comprehensive measure. Due to its effect on eating habits, the concept of mindful eating has been associated with BMI. A number of studies have found that higher reported mindful eating is associated with lower BMI in participants (Moor et al., 2013, Framson et al., 2009, Ahmad et al., 2019, Anderson et al., 2016). In light of this observed relationship, a number of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have been developed and employed as a method of reducing BMI and tackling the ongoing obesity pandemic. Despite this, the effects of MBIs on the reduction of BMI have been inconclusive, with some analyses showing a significant effect (Lawlor et al., 2020, Roche et al., 2019) and others not (Grider et al., 2021, Mercado et al., 2021). A possible explanation for this is that the mixed results are the consequence of MBIs varying substantially in the mindful eating practices which they teach. MBIs so far vary substantially in the mindful eating practices in which they teach, this therefore could be the basis differing results. In light of this potential explanation, further research is needed to understand which practices of mindful eating are most significant in affecting BMI, to then inform the development and content of future MBI’s. Although speculative, both present moment awareness of sensory properties of food and present moment awareness of internal bodily sensations relating to hunger, fullness and eating, may be the practices with the most significant impact on BMI. A recent PROSPERO registered review (CRD42022346160) by Zhang and colleagues (2022) on mindful eating identified them both as the most commonly applied mindful eating practices in the literature. This notion is also supported by experimental research findings showing both practices had a significant effect on reducing the consumption of energy dense foods (Jordan et al., 2014 and Lenne & Mann, 2020), an eating behaviour known to have a significant influence on BMI (Duncan et al., 1983). However, as previously noted this suggestion is speculative and further research is needed to establish the key driving practices. Therefore, the present study aims to first investigate the correlation between the two measures of mindful eating (MEQ and MEI), due to the differences in mindful eating practices identified by these measures. Second, the current study aims to utilise these two measures, to really establish the relationship between Mindful Eating and BMI, previously identified in the literature. Finally, the current study aims to develop a bespoke measure of mindful eating, incorporating six of the most commonly reported mindful eating practices, with the specific aim of assessing which practices are most associated with BMI.

Introduction: metabolic syndrome (MetS) can have a bidirectional effect on emotional and restrained eating. Objectives: our aims are to find interrelations between MetS and emotional eating, restrained eating, additionally with depression. Methods: cross-sectional study. Participants aged between 18 and 63, and mostly were obese (n = 200). Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) were used to find associations between eating patterns and metabolic syndrome. Results: our study ensured evidences for physiological relations between restrained and emotional eating with MetS. Biochemical parameters showed that restrained eaters were less insulin resistant and participants with MetS had higher emotional eating and lower restrained eating. Besides, restrained eaters had lower triglyceride, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting insulin, blood glucose, and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels; and emotional eating was parallel with fasting insulin level and HOMA-IR. Conclusions: MetS had strong associations with eating behaviors as restrained, emotional and external. In line with the findings of the study, additionally, women were more susceptible to MetS than men were. In the regulation of restrictive, emotional and external eating behaviors, dietitians and psychology experts should be in cooperation to treat disordered eating patterns.Introduccıón: el síndrome metabólico (MetS) puede tener un efecto bidireccional sobre la alimentación emocional y restrictiva. Objetivos: nuestro objetivo es encontrar interacciones entre el MetS y la alimentación emocional y la alimentación restrictiva, sumado a la depresión. Métodos: se trata de un estudio transversal. Un grupo de participantes de entre 18 y 63 años, en su mayoría obesos (n = 200). Para encontrar asociaciones entre los patrones de alimentación y el síndrome metabólico se utilizaron el Test de Actitudes Alimentarias (EAT-26), el Inventario de Depresión de Beck (BDI) y el Cuestionario Holandés de Comportamiento Alimentario (DEBQ). Resultados: nuestro estudio mostró evidencias de relaciones fisiológicas entre la alimentación restrictiva y emocional con el MetS. Los parámetros bioquímicos reflejaron que aquellos que comían contenidamente eran menos resistentes a la insulina y los participantes con MetS presentaban una mayor alimentación emocional y una menor restricción alimenticia. Además, los que comían contenidamente tenían niveles más bajos de triglicéridos, HOMA-IR, insulina en ayunas y glucosa en sangre, frente a niveles más altos de HDL-C. Asimismo, la alimentación emocional reflejó una relación paralela con el nivel de insulina en ayunas y HOMA-IR. Conclusiones: se evidenció una notable asociación entre el MetS y los comportamientos alimenticios restrictivos, emocionales y externos. De acuerdo con los hallazgos del estudio, además, las mujeres eran más susceptibles al MetS que los hombres. En la regulación de las conductas alimenticias restrictivas, emocionales y externas, los dietistas y los expertos en psicología deben coadyuvar para tratar patrones de desórdenes alimenticios.

Eating disorders are widespread illnesses with significant impact. There is growing concern about how those at risk of eating disorders overuse online resources to their detriment. We conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) and eating disorder and related psychopathology. The meta-analysis comprised n = 32,295 participants, in which PUI was correlated with significant eating disorder general psychopathology Pearson r = 0.22 (s.e. = 0.04, p < 0.001), body dissatisfaction r = 0.16 (s.e. = 0.02, p < 0.001), drive-for-thinness r = 0.16 (s.e. = 0.04, p < 0.001) and dietary restraint r = 0.18 (s.e. = 0.03). Effects were not moderated by gender, PUI facet or study quality. Results are in support of PUI impacting on eating disorder symptoms; males may be equally vulnerable to these potential effects. Prospective and experimental studies in the field suggest that small but significant effects exist and may have accumulative influence over time and across all age groups. Those findings are important to expand our understanding of PUI as a multifaceted concept and its impact on multiple levels of ascertainment of eating disorder and related psychopathology.

Objective: Depression and obesity are bi-directionally related, eating styles and diet quality are two important factors associated with both. It remains uncertain if and how these two factors can be modified. Therefore the current study aims to investigate whether food-related behavioral activation therapy (F-BA), targeting mood, dietary habits and food related behavior, can improve eating styles, and diet quality and reduce body weight in adults with overweight or obesity and subsyndromal depressive symptoms. Methods: Data were derived from the MooDFOOD prevention trial, a 2x2 factorial RCT investigating the effect of nutritional strategies on prevention of depression. Changes in emotional, uncontrolled, and cognitive restrained eating (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised), Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), and body weight were analyzed among 1025 adults who either received F-BA or no intervention for 12 months. Intervention effect was tested by longitudinal analysis of covariance using mixed model analysis. Results: The F-BA group showed a small decrease in emotional (β=-5.68, p

Objective Parental bonding, low self-esteem, emotion dysregulation, and eating style are correlated with each other and are associated with binge eating among adolescents. However, no studies have yet examined all these variables simultaneously. In the current study, the independent and combined influences of such constructs on binge eating were tested with structural equation modeling. Method A sample of 973 students aged between 12 and 16 (M = 14.17, SD = 1.25) years was screened by means of self-report measures assessing parental bonding, self-esteem, emotion dysregulation, eating styles and binge eating severity. Results Self-esteem (β = −0.205) and eating styles (emotional β = 0.313, external β = 0.133, and restrained β = 0.178) had a direct effect on binge eating severity. The model (χ2(22) = 57.679; RMSEA = 0.041; CFI = 0.987; TLI = 0.949; SRMR = 0.024) revealed that the paths from both maternal and paternal care and maternal overprotection to binge eating were mediated through low self-esteem, emotion dysregulation and each eating style, explaining 35% of the variance. Discussion Findings provide support for a comprehensive theoretical-based model of risk factors for binge eating and suggest the possible mechanisms through which the quality of early parental relationships contribute to developing dysfunctional eating patterns. Treatment and prevention efforts should improve self-esteem and emphasize emotion regulation capabilities.

Widespread overeating has been found during the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The present study investigated whether pre-pandemic restrained eating (RE) predicted overeating during the pandemic, and further explored the behavioral (mortality threat, negative affect) mechanisms underlying this association. An eight-month longitudinal survey was conducted with a large sample of 616 undergraduates from Southwest university. From September 2019 to April 2020, three measurements were conducted. RE was tested before the pandemic (T1), and data of mortality threat, negative affect, and overeating were collected at the middle (T2) and end of (T3) the COVID-19 crisis in China. The correlation results showed that baseline RE was positively associated with mortality threat, negative affect, and overeating at T2 and T3. Moreover, negative affect and mortality threat were positively correlated with overeating. Results from longitudinal mediation showed that baseline RE would positively predict T3 overeating through T2 negative affect, but not T2 mortality threat. This study supports and extends the counterregulatory eating hypothesis that RE positively predicts future overeating, especially through negative emotions. These findings further reveal the core psychological mechanism underlying this positive RE-overeating relation in the context of COVID-19, indicating that the individuals with higher RE could not cope with negative affect adequately, contributing to more overeating.

Knowledge of associations between emotional, external, and restrained eating with food choices is still limited due to the inconsistent results of the previous research. The aim of the study was to adopt the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and then to examine the relationship between emotional, external, and restrained eating styles and dietary patterns distinguished on the basis of intake of fruit and vegetables (fresh and processed separately), fruit and/or vegetable unsweetened juices, sweets and salty snacks, and the adequacy of fruit and vegetable intake. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020, in a sample of 1000 Polish adults. The questionnaire consisted of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, questions on selected food groups intake, and metrics. DEBQ structure was tested using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA, CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM), while multi-group analysis was used to test measurement invariance. Logistic regression was applied to investigate the association between eating styles and dietary patterns, identified with the use of K-means cluster analysis. EFA, CFA and SEM revealed a three-factor, 29-item tool with satisfactory psychometric parameters. Restrained eating (ResEat) and external eating (ExtEat) were found to decrease chances of low intake of both favorable (fruit, vegetables, and unsweetened juices) and unfavorable (sweets and salty snacks) foods and increased the chances of their moderate intake. ResEat increased the probability of the high intake of favorable and moderate or high intake of unfavorable foods. ResEat and ExtEat were predisposed to adequate intake of fruit and vegetables while emotional eating had the opposite effect. Gender, education, and BMI were also found to determine food intake. Our results provide evidence that both eating styles and sociodemographic characteristics should be taken into account while explaining food intake as they may favor healthy and unhealthy eating in different ways.

Background: Restrained, emotional, and external eating are related to obesity and eating disorders. A salutogenic model has confirmed sense of coherence (SOC) as a health resource that moderates stress and helps limit the occurrence of overweightness and eating disorders. This study aimed to examine the relationship between SOC, social support, stress, body image satisfaction (BIS) and eating behaviors in different cultural environments. Methods: A total of 371 Austrian (161 men, 210 women) and 398 Japanese (226 men, 172 women) university students participated. The SOC-13 scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, BMI-Based Silhouette Matching Test and an analogue single-stress item were used as measurements. Results: SOC negatively affected all three types of eating in Austrian students (men: &beta, = &minus, 0.227 to &minus, 0.215, women: &beta, 0.262 to &minus, 0.214). In Japanese students, SOC negatively affected external eating in both sexes (men: &beta, 0.150, 0.198) and emotional eating (&beta, 0.187) in men. BIS indicated that the desire to become slim predicted restrained eating, women&rsquo, s emotional eating, and men&rsquo, s and Austrian women&rsquo, s external eating. Stress was only predictive of emotional eating in Japanese men. Conclusions: This study found that SOC, BIS and stress might be valuable factors regulating eating behavior in a cultural context. However, the relationship between SOC, BIS, stress and eating behavior differs between cultures.

Ability to restrain one's dietary intake is a necessary skill for weight loss. However, dietary restraint has been shown to paradoxically increase disinhibited eating in certain populations, thereby negatively impacting weight loss and leading to worse overall health outcomes. The aim of this study was to address gaps in the literature regarding the relationships between separate facets of dietary restraint (intention; behavior) with weight loss and various types of disinhibited eating (binge eating, external eating, emotional eating) in overweight and obese adults who recently completed a weight loss intervention. A sample of mostly male Veterans with overweight and obesity (N = 88) self-reported their dietary restraint intention, restraint behavior, and current disinhibited eating following completion of an 8-week behavioral weight loss treatment. Greater dietary restraint intention was related to greater dietary restraint behavior, p .05. Greater dietary restraint intention was related to greater current binge eating and external eating, while greater self-reported restraint behavior was related to less binge eating, p

Background Previous research suggests that restrained eating is problematic in Lebanon and is associated with the occurrence of clinically diagnosed eating disorders. Because of the alarming prevalence and severity of these disorders, the aim of this study is to investigate factors that may contribute to restrained eating in adults among a representative sample of the Lebanese population. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted between January and May 2018; 811 adult participants were enrolled from all Lebanese districts. The Dutch Restrained Eating scale was used to measure body disturbance. The factors that were assessed in the questionnaire were body dissatisfaction, self-esteem, perceived stress, anxiety, depression, emotion regulation, emotional eating and adult attachment styles. Results The mean age of the participants was 27.59 ± 11.76 years, and included 66.5% females. In the absence of a cutoff value for the Dutch Restrained Eating scale, we took the median (2.6) as the cutoff value. The results showed that 391 (48.3%) had restrained eating. The Dutch Restrained Eating scale items converged over a solution of one factor that had an Eigenvalue over 1, explaining a total of 60.69% of the variance (Cronbach’s alpha was high =0.928). The linear regression results, taking the Dutch restrained eating scale as the dependent variable, showed that being a female (Beta = 0.31), increased age (Beta = 0.01), higher body mass index (Beta = 0.01), an intermediate monthly income (Beta = 0.25), higher body dissatisfaction scores (Beta = 0.03), higher adult anxiety attachment style (Beta = 0.008), higher emotion regulation cognitive reappraisal facet (Beta = 0.01), feeling pressure from TV/magazine to lose weight (Beta = 0.45) and practicing sport activities (Beta = 0.41) were associated with higher restrained eating scores. Conclusion Our findings show that numerous factors are associated with restrained eating in the Lebanese community. They include body dissatisfaction, cognitive reappraisal, female gender, eating attitudes, social media pressure and adult attachment. Therefore, the development of prevention strategies directed at an improved body image perception and increasing knowledge about factors that might influence this body image and critical thinking regarding media images is warranted, with the ultimate goal of promoting healthier choices in the Lebanese population.

It is often believed that attentional bias (AB) for food is a stable trait of certain groups, like restrained eaters. However, empirical evidence from this domain is inconsistent. High-calorie foods are double-faceted, as they are both a source of reward and of weight/health concern. Their meaning might depend on the food-related context (i.e., focus on health or on enjoyment), which in turn could affect AB for food. This study primed 85 females with hedonic, healthy, and neutral contexts successively and examined whether food-related context affected AB for food and if effects were moderated by dietary restraint. Both the mean tendencies of AB for food and variability of AB for food were assessed in a food dot-probe task with a recording of both reaction times and eye movements. Contrary to our hypotheses, AB for food was not significantly affected by either context or the interaction between context and dietary restraint. Instead, liking of the presented food stimuli was related to longer initial fixations and longer dwell time on the food stimuli. In addition, in line with prior research, body mass index (BMI) was correlated with variability of AB for food instead of mean AB for food. In conclusion, this study did not find any support that AB for food is dependent on food-related context, but interestingly, reaction time-based variability of AB for food seems to relate to BMI, and eye movement-based mean AB seems to relate to appetitive motivation.

This study aims to explore the association between restrained eating, body image, and dietary intake among Chinese college students. This cross-sectional study included 1301 college students at two universities in Hunan Province. Electronic questionnaires were used to collect information including students’ demographic characteristics, restrained eating, perception of body weight, body satisfaction, and dietary intake. Anthropometric measurements were collected to calculate body mass index (BMI). The prevalence of high restrained eating was 52.8%. Students who were dissatisfied with their bodies or overestimated their body weight showed a higher tendency toward high restrained eating (p &lt, 0.05). Students with high restrained eating tended to eat fruits and eggs more frequently, while the frequency of eating domestic animals and poultry, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast food were the opposite. Moreover, high restrained eating was a risk factor for low dietary diversity (odds ratio (OR) = 1.384, 95% confidence interval: 1.002~1.912). The high incidence of restrained eating among Chinese college students and its energy-restricted diets that may lead to possible health implications require attention. Further studies are needed to investigate the characteristics of college students’ restrained eating to tailor appropriate interventions for forming positive body images and promoting healthy eating behaviors, thus, improving dietary quality.

Background Restrained eating disorder is prevalent worldwide across both ethnic and different cultural groups, and most importantly within the adolescent population. Additionally, comorbidities of restrained eating present a large burden on both physical and mental health of individuals. Moreover, literature is relatively scarce in Arab countries regarding eating disorders, let alone restrained eating, and among adolescent populations; hence, the aim of this study was to (1) validate the Dutch Restrained Eating Scale in a sample of Lebanese adolescents and (2) assess factors correlated with restrained eating (RE), while taking body dissatisfaction as a moderator between body mass index (BMI) and RE. Methods This cross-sectional study, conducted between May and June 2020 during the lockdown period imposed by the Lebanese government, included 555 adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years from all Lebanese governorates (mean age of 16.66 ± 1.00 years). The scales used were: Dutch Restrained Eating Scale, body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory-Second version, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Beirut Distress Scale (for psychological distress), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire (for depression). Results The Confirmatory factor analysis results were obtained as follows: χ2/df = 159.88/35= 4.57, CFI= 0.96, TLI= 0.95, RMSEA = 0.08 [0.068-0.093]. Female gender (B=0.19), higher BMI (B=0.49), higher physical activity index (B=0.17), following a diet to lose weight (B=0.26), starving oneself to lose weight (B=0.13), more body dissatisfaction (B=1.09), higher stress (B=0.18) were significantly associated with more restrained eating, whereas taking medications to lose weight (B=-0.10) was significantly associated with less restrained eating. The interaction BMI by body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with restrained eating; in the group with low BMI, high body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with more restrained eating. The factor analysis yielded a one-factor solution with Eigen values > 1 (variance explained = 59.65 %; αCronbach = 0.924). Female gender (B = 0.19), higher BMI (B = 0.49), higher physical activity index (B = 0.17), following a diet to lose weight (B = 0.26), starving oneself to lose weight (B = 0.13), more body dissatisfaction (B = 1.09), and higher stress (B = 0.18) were significantly associated with more RE, whereas taking medications to lose weight (B=-0.10) was significantly associated with less RE. The interaction body mass index (BMI) by body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with RE; in the group with low BMI, higher body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with more RE. Conclusions Our study showed that the Dutch Restrained Eating scale is an adapted and validated tool to be used among Lebanese adolescents and revealed factors associated with restrained eating in this population. Since restrained eating has been associated with many clinically-diagnosed eating disorders, the results of this study might serve as a first step towards the development of prevention strategies targeted towards promoting a healthy lifestyle in Lebanese adolescents.

BackgroundThe current study set out to improve our understanding of the characteristics of individuals who are motivated to restrict their food intake yet who nevertheless fail to do so. We examined whether punishment sensitivity (PS) was related to restrained eating, and reward sensitivity (RS) to perceived dieting success. Additionally, it was examined whether executive control (EC) moderates the association between RS and perceived dieting success.MethodsFemale student participants (N = 290, aged 17–29, BMI between 18.5 and 38.0) completed questionnaires on restrained eating, perceived dieting success, RS and PS, and carried out a behavioral task to index EC.ResultsPS was indeed positively related to restrained eating. RS was positively related to perceived dieting success, yet, EC did not moderate this association.ConclusionThe current study adds to the evidence that PS is related to individuals’ motivation to restrict their food intake. Furthermore, it shows support for the suggestion that RS may facilitate food restriction.

Individuals exposed to dieting-related environmental cues have been repeatedly shown to be better able to resist tempting food. This especially applies to restrained eaters who hold a chronic dieting goal. Thus far, mainly short-term effects of environmental dieting cues have been examined and the individuals were typically unaware of being influenced. Yet, it is unclear whether individuals can deliberately apply environmental dieting cues for themselves to facilitate the pursuit of the longer-term goal of losing weight. The present longitudinal study applied a 2 (cue: visually dieting-related vs. visually neutral cue) × 2 (awareness: being aware vs. not being aware of the cue’s facilitating influence) between-subjects design for 6 months (N = 166 participants who started the study; Mage = 47.85 years; 69.9% female; MBMI = 29.07 kg/m2). Our results provide preliminary indications that cue, awareness, and restrained eating interact. The results suggest that high (vs. low) restrained eaters could deliberately apply environmental dieting cues for themselves to facilitate losing weight. However, further studies are needed to explore the effects of environmental dieting cues over a longer period of time.

Individuals exposed to dieting-related environmental cues have been repeatedly shown to be better able to resist tempting food. This especially applies to restrained eaters who hold a chronic dieting goal. Thus far, mainly short-term effects of environmental dieting cues have been examined and the individuals were typically unaware of being influenced. Yet, it is unclear whether individuals can deliberately apply environmental dieting cues for themselves to facilitate the pursuit of the longer-term goal of losing weight. The present longitudinal study applied a 2 (cue: visually dieting-related vs. visually neutral cue) × 2 (awareness: being aware vs. not being aware of the cue’s facilitating influence) between-subjects design for 6 months (N = 166 participants who started the study; Mage = 47.85 years; 69.9% female; MBMI = 29.07 kg/m2). Our results provide preliminary indications that cue, awareness, and restrained eating interact. The results suggest that high (vs. low) restrained eaters could deliberately apply environmental dieting cues for themselves to facilitate losing weight. However, further studies are needed to explore the effects of environmental dieting cues over a longer period of time.

Restrained eaters display difficulties engaging in self-control in the presence of food. Undergoing cognitive training to form associations between palatable food and response inhibition was found to improve self-control and influence eating behaviors. The present study assessed the impact of two such response inhibition trainings on food consumption, food-related anxiety, and implicit attitudes toward food among female restrained eaters (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire-restrained eating subscale &ge, 2.5). In Experiment 1, 64 restrained eaters completed either one of two training procedures in which they were asked to classify food vs. non-food images: a food-response training, in which stop cues were always associated with non-food images, or a balanced food-response/inhibition training, in which participants inhibited motor actions to food and non-food stimuli equally. The results revealed reduced snack consumption following the food-response/inhibition training compared to the food-response training. The food-response training was associated with increased levels of food-related anxiety. In Experiment 2, the same training procedures were administered to 47 restrained eaters, and implicit attitudes toward palatable foods were assessed. The results revealed an increase in positive implicit attitudes toward palatable foods in the food-response/inhibition group but not in the food-response training group. The results suggest that balancing response inhibition and execution across food and non-food stimuli may reduce overeating while retaining positive attitudes toward food among female restrained eaters.

Eating disorders are widespread illnesses with significant impact. There is growing concern about how those at risk of eating disorders overuse online resources to their detriment. We conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) and eating disorder and related psychopathology. The meta-analysis comprised n = 32,295 participants, in which PUI was correlated with significant eating disorder general psychopathology Pearson r = 0.22 (s.e. = 0.04, p < 0.001), body dissatisfaction r = 0.16 (s.e. = 0.02, p < 0.001), drive-for-thinness r = 0.16 (s.e. = 0.04, p < 0.001) and dietary restraint r = 0.18 (s.e. = 0.03). Effects were not moderated by gender, PUI facet or study quality. Results are in support of PUI impacting on eating disorder symptoms; males may be equally vulnerable to these potential effects. Prospective and experimental studies in the field suggest that small but significant effects exist and may have accumulative influence over time and across all age groups. Those findings are important to expand our understanding of PUI as a multifaceted concept and its impact on multiple levels of ascertainment of eating disorder and related psychopathology.

Overweight and obesity present alarming global health problems including detrimental health risks that call for effective interventions. Considerable research has examined behavioural and psychological factors associated with weight loss to advance the field of obesity and overweight. In line with the literature, this study aimed to develop a behavioural and psychological profile based on factors of personality, eating behaviours, emotional functioning, physical well-being, and psychopathology. The sample consisted of 105 community participants who had reduced their bodyweight by at least 10% and had either successfully maintained their weight loss for a minimum 12-month period (n = 41) or had regained their weight loss within 12 months (n = 64). Participants completed an online survey comprising demographic items and four empirical measures (Mini Marker Personality Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised, and a food screening tool). Based on significant bivariate correlations results, four factors (fat intake, restrained eating, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating) were entered into a binary logistic regression. Restrained eating was the only factor that significantly increased the likelihood of predicting successful long-term weight loss. Findings have implications for overweight and obesity future research, which may guide the direction of obesity and overweight treatments., Psychology; Obesity; Overweight; Psychological; Behavioural; Weight maintenance; Restrained eating

Background Certain eating behaviors are common among women with obesity. Whether these behaviors influence outcomes in weight loss programs, and whether such programs affect eating behaviors, is unclear. Methods Our aim was to examine the effect of baseline eating behaviors on intervention adherence and weight among postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity, and to assess intervention effects on eating behaviors. Four hundred and 39 women (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) were randomized to 12 months of: i) dietary weight loss with a 10% weight loss goal (‘diet’; n = 118); ii) moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise for 225 mins/week (‘exercise’; n = 117); iii) combined dietary weight loss and exercise (‘diet + exercise’; n = 117); or iv) no-lifestyle change control (n = 87). At baseline and 12 months, restrained eating, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating and binge eating were measured by questionnaire; weight and body composition were assessed. The mean change in eating behavior scores and weight between baseline and 12 months in the diet, exercise, and diet + exercise arms were each compared to controls using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) modification of linear regression adjusted for age, baseline BMI, and race/ethnicity. Results Baseline restrained eating was positively associated with change in total calories and calories from fat during the dietary intervention but not with other measures of adherence. Higher baseline restrained eating was associated with greater 12-month reductions in weight, waist circumference, body fat and lean mass. Women randomized to dietary intervention had significant reductions in binge eating (− 23.7%, p = 0.005 vs. control), uncontrolled eating (− 24.3%, p p p p p = 0.004 vs. control), and increased restrained eating (+ 41.4%, p Conclusions A dietary weight loss intervention helped women modify eating behaviors. Future research should investigate optimal behavioral weight loss interventions for women with both disordered eating and obesity. Trial registration NCT00470119 (https://clinicaltrials.gov). Retrospectively registered May 7, 2007.

Contains fulltext : 199262.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Depression and eating styles are two important, interrelated factors associated with dietary intake. However, it remains unclear whether depression and eating styles are independently associated with dietary intake, and whether associations between depression and dietary intake are mediated by eating styles. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the associations of, and interplay between depression and eating styles in relation to different aspects of dietary intake. Cross-sectional data from 1442 participants (healthy controls (22.7%), remitted (61.0%) and current patients (16.3%)) from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety were used. Linear regression analyses were used to determine associations of depressive disorders (DSM-IV based psychiatric interview), self-reported depressive symptoms (Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology), emotional, external and restrained eating (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire) with 4 measures of dietary intake (total energy intake (kcal/d), Mediterranean diet score (MDS), intake of sweets foods (g/d), and snack/fast-food (g/d)) measured with a 238-item food frequency questionnaire. Statistical mediation analyses were used to study whether associations between depression and dietary intake were mediated by eating styles. Current depression diagnosis and severity were associated with lower MDS and higher intake of sweet foods and snack/fast-food. Emotional and external eating were associated with higher intakes of snack/fast-food; external eating was also associated with higher total energy intake. Restrained eating was associated with lower total energy and intake of sweet foods, and higher MDS. Associations between current depression or severity and intake of snack/fast-food were mediated by external eating. In general, depression and eating styles contributed independently to poorer diet quality and higher intake of sweet and snack/fast-food. The association between depression and higher intake of snack/fast-food was mediated by external eating. 8 p.

Purpose As the prevalence of overweight and obesity are still increasing, it is important to help individuals who encounter difficulty with losing weight. The current study was set out to further investigate characteristics of individuals who are highly motivated to restrict their food intake to lose weight, but fail to do so (i.e., restrained eaters). The motivation to lose weight might stem from high punishment sensitivity, whereas the failure to succeed in restricting food intake might be the result of high reward sensitivity. Thus, it was examined whether restrained eaters are characterized by both high reward sensitivity and high punishment sensitivity. Additionally, this is the first study to examine executive control as a potential moderator of this relationship. Methods Female undergraduates (N = 60) performed a behavioral measure of executive control, and completed the Restraint Scale to index level of restrained eating as well as two questionnaires on reinforcement sensitivity; the Behavioral Inhibition Scale/Behavioral Activation Scale, and the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire. Results There was a positive relationship between restrained eating and punishment sensitivity as indexed by both questionnaires. Reward sensitivity as measured by both indices was not directly related to restrained eating. Executive control moderated the relation between reward responsivity (but not reward-drive) and restrained eating; specifically in women with relatively weak executive control there was a positive relationship between reward responsivity and restrained eating behavior. Conclusion In women with low executive control, restrained eating is associated with both heightened sensitivity to punishment and heightened responsivity to reward.

A carefully planned vegetarian diet meets nutrition recommendations by providing essential nutrients and lowering levels of saturated fat and cholesterol. Because balanced diets that limit or exclude meat tend to be lower in calories than omnivorous diets, it has been suggested that vegetarian eating patterns may be motivated by weight control. This view has been supported by findings demonstrating that vegetarians have a higher rate of disordered and restrained eating than non-vegetarians. Other findings suggest that weight control is a primary reason identified by adolescents and young adults for eliminating items such as meat and other animal products from their diet. Thus, it has been suggested that vegetarianism may provide a socially acceptable means to control body weight. However, this may be an over-generalization. Vegetarians are a heterogeneous group of individuals with radically different eating habits. Moreover, they are often compared to omnivores who eat meat on a regular basis. These omnivorous eating habits do not represent a growing subset of the population, many of whom are adopting a flexitarian diet that involves only the occasional consumption of meat. The goal of the current paper will be to demonstrate that semi-vegetarians and flexitarians are categorically different from vegans, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and omnivores and describe the motivations as well as the positive and negative health implications that are associated with dietary patterns that limit the intake of meat. It is important for us to understand the motivations and behaviors that are characteristic of flexitarians in order to develop effective evidence-based strategies to address unhealthy eating behaviors.

Children’s eating behavior influences energy intake and thus weight through choices of type and amount of food. One type of eating behavior, food responsiveness, defined as eating in response to external cues such as the sight and smell of food, is particularly related to increased caloric intake and weight. Because little is known about the potential determinants of such behavior, we focus herein on child and parent predictors of food responsiveness in a large community sample of Norwegian 6-year-olds, followed up at ages 8 and 10. To measure children’s food responsiveness, parents completed the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Potential predictors were children’s inhibition and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression, and parents’ instrumental and controlling feeding practices as well as parental restrained eating. After accounting for children’s initial levels of food responsiveness within a hybrid fixed effects method that takes into consideration all unmeasured time-invariant confounders, more child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and greater restrained eating by parents predicted more food responsiveness at both ages 8 and 10. These results may provide important insights for efforts to prevent overeating. © American Psychological Association, [2018]. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0000504

The dual model of bulimia proposes that social pressure for ideal body, stereotypes internalization, body image dissatisfaction, dietary and negative affect are lead to development of bulimia. Previous research confirms this model, also studies shown that the same sociocultural factors are important for development of anorexia. So it can be assumed that dual pathway model of bulimia could predict anorexia symptoms. The aim of the study was to test dual pathway bulimia model for predicting anorexia symptoms. A sample of 348 14-18 age schoolgirls from Kaunas city completed Eating Attitude Test, Negative Affect Schedule, Body shape Questionnaire, Perceived sociocultural pressure scale and Ideal Body Stereotype Scale. Structural equation analyses suggested that initial pressure to be thin and thin-ideal internalization predicted subsequent growth in body dissatisfaction, initial body dissatisfaction predicted growth in dieting and negative affect, and initial dieting and negative affect predicted growth in bulimia and anorexia symptoms. The findings provide support for dual pathway model of bulimia for predicting not only bulimia, but also anorexia symptoms.

The estimates we do of the energy content of different foods tend to be inaccurate, depending on several factors. The elements influencing such evaluation are related to the differences in the portion size of the foods shown, their energy density (kcal/g), but also to individual differences of the estimators, such as their body-mass index (BMI) or eating habits. Within this context the contribution of brain regions involved in food-related decisions to the energy estimation process is still poorly understood. Here, normal-weight and overweight/obese women with restrained or non-restrained eating habits, received anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (AtDCS) to modulate the activity of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) while they performed a food energy estimation task. Participants were asked to judge the energy content of food images, unaware that all foods, for the quantity presented, shared the same energy content. Results showed that food energy density was a reliable predictor of their energy content estimates, suggesting that participants relied on their knowledge about the food energy density as a proxy for estimating food energy content. The neuromodulation of the dlPFC interacted with individual differences in restrained eating, increasing the precision of the energy content estimates in participants with higher scores in the restrained eating scale. Our study highlights the importance of eating habits, such as restrained eating, in modulating the activity of the left dlPFC during food appraisal.

Objective: Although restrained eaters are motivated to control their weight by dieting, they are often unsuccessful in these attempts. Dual process models emphasize the importance of differentiating between controlled and automatic tendencies to approach food. This study investigated the hypothesis that heightened automatic approach tendencies in restrained eaters would be especially prominent in contexts where food is irrelevant for their current tasks. Additionally, we examined the influence of mood on the automatic tendency to approach food as a function of dietary restraint.Methods: An Affective Simon Task-manikin was administered to measure automatic approach tendencies where food is task-irrelevant, and a Stimulus Response Compatibility task (SRC) to measure automatic approach in contexts where food is task-relevant, in 92 female participants varying in dietary restraint. Prior to the task, sad, stressed, neutral, or positive mood was induced. Food intake was measured during a bogus taste task after the computer tasks.Results: Consistent with their diet goals, participants with a strong tendency to restrain their food intake showed a relatively weak approach bias toward food when food was task-relevant (SRC) and this effect was independent of mood. Restrained eaters showed a relatively strong approach bias toward food when food was task-irrelevant in the positive condition and a relatively weak approach in the sad mood.Conclusion: The weak approach bias in contexts where food is task-relevant may help high-restrained eaters to comply with their diet goal. However, the strong approach bias in contexts where food is task-irrelevant and when being in a positive mood may interfere with restrained eaters' goal of restricting food-intake.

Highlight Participants were non-clinical young adults with different restrained eating levels. We assessed relations of restrained eating (RE) with regional gray matter volume (rGMV). High RE scores were related to larger GMV in specific areas related to reward. High RE scores were also linked to less GMV in regions related to response inhibition. Objective: Dieting is a popular method of weight control. However, few dieters are able to maintain initial weight losses over an extended period of time. Why do most restrained dieters fail to lose weight? Alterations in brain structures associated with restrained eating (RE) represent one potentially important mechanism that contributes to difficulties in maintaining weight loss within this group. To evaluate this contention, we investigated associations between intentional, sustained restriction of food intake to lose or maintain body weight, and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) within a large non-clinical young adult, sample. Methods: Participants (150 women, 108 men) completed measures of RE and demographics prior to undergoing an MRI scan. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) evaluated strengths of association between RE scores and rGMV. Results: Higher RE levels corresponded to more rGMV in regions linked to risk of overeating and binge-eating including the left insula and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Conversely, RE had significant negative correlations with rGMV in the left and right posterior cingulum gyrus, regions linked to inhibitory control and potential risk for future weight gain. Conclusions: Together, findings suggested individual differences in RE among young adults correspond to GMV variability in regions linked to overweight and obesity risk.

Although restrained eaters try to limit their food intake, they often fail and indulge in exactly those foods that they want to avoid. A possible explanation is a temporal attentional bias for food cues. It could be that for these people food stimuli are processed relatively efficiently and require less attentional resources to enter awareness. Once a food stimulus has captured attention, it may be preferentially processed and granted prioritized access to limited cognitive resources. This might help explain why restrained eaters often fail in their attempts to restrict their food intake. A Rapid Serial Visual Presentation task consisting of dual and single target trials with food and neutral pictures as targets and/or distractors was administered to restrained (n = 40) and unrestrained (n = 40) eaters to study temporal attentional bias. Results indicated that (1) food cues did not diminish the attentional blink in restrained eaters when presented as second target; (2) specifically restrained eaters showed an interference effect of identifying food targets on the identification of preceding neutral targets', (3) for both restrained and unrestrained eaters, food cues enhanced the attentional blink; (4) specifically in restrained eaters, food distractors elicited an attention blink in the single target trials. In restrained eaters, food cues get prioritized access to limited cognitive resources, even if this processing priority interferes with their current goals. This temporal attentional bias for food stimuli might help explain why restrained eaters typically have difficulties maintaining their diet rules. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Moralization is the process whereby preferences are converted to values (Rozin, 1999). Two studies used an embodied metaphor approach, in which moral metaphors are grounded in one’s sense of physical cleanliness, to investigate whether restrained eating practices are moralized among women. Specifically, we predicted that the regulation of food intake by women is embodied in their feelings of physical cleanliness. Study 1 found that failures of restrained eating (i.e., overeating) increased accessibility of physical cleanliness-related words for women, but not men. Study 2 found that increased negative moral emotions fully mediated the effect of overeating on a desire for physical cleanliness. Overall, the studies argue for the importance of morality in restrained eating and in the central role of emotions in the embodiment of cognitive metaphors. Postprint

Contains fulltext : 116481.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Individual differences in eating behaviours might partly explain the variations in development of weight gain and subsequent overweight and obesity. In the current study, identified trajectories of BMI in adolescence and their associations with restrained, emotional and external eating were tested. For the assessment of BMI trajectories growth mixture modelling was used; a method used to identify clusters of individuals within a population that follow distinct developmental trajectories. In total 328 Dutch adolescents (13-15 years old at baseline) self-reported their height and weight at five annual waves and their eating behaviour at baseline. Development of BMI was best fitted in five distinct trajectories that showed similar moderate increase of BMI over time; parallel but at a different level. High restrained eaters had a higher chance of being in the higher BMI trajectories. Emotional and external eating were unrelated to the BMI trajectories. In conclusion, adolescents in this study followed very parallel patterns of moderate increases in BMI which suggests that factors acting on individual differences in weight status have had their influence mostly at a - perhaps much - younger age. Restraint eating was related to BMI in early adolescence, but not to an increases or decreases in BMI over the course of adolescence.

Theories of eating regulation often attribute overweight to a malfunction of homeostatic regulation of body weight. With the goal conflict model of eating, we present a new perspective that attributes the difficulty of chronic dieters (i.e., restrained eaters) in regulating their food intake to a conflict between 2 incompatible goals-namely, eating enjoyment and weight control. This model explains the findings of previous research and provides novel insights into the psychological mechanism responsible for both dietary failure and success. According to this model, although chronic dieters are motivated to pursue their weight control goal, they often fail in food-rich environments because they are surrounded by palatable food cues that strongly prime the goal of eating enjoyment. Due to the incompatibility of the eating enjoyment goal and the weight control goal, such increase in the activation of the eating enjoyment goal results in (a) an inhibition of the cognitive representation of the weight control goal and (b) preferential processing of palatable food stimuli. Both these processes interfere with the effective pursuit of the weight control goal and facilitate unhealthy eating. However, there is a minority of restrained eaters for whom, most likely due to past success in exerting self-control, tasty high-calorie food has become associated with weight control thoughts. For them, exposure to palatable food increases the accessibility of the weight control goal, enabling them to control their body weight in food-rich environments. Evidence for these proposed psychological mechanisms is provided, and implications for interventions are discussed. © 2012 American Psychological Association.

Restrained eaters with high scores on the Perceived Self-Regulatory Success in Dieting Scale (PSRS) are more successful than low scorers in regulating their food intake. According to the theory of temptation-elicited goal activation (Fishbach, Friedman, & Kruglanski, 2003), they have become successful because, due to earlier repeated instances of successful self-control, they formed an associative link between temptations and thoughts of dieting. It is unclear, however, why they should have been more successful in earlier attempts at self-control than their unsuccessful counterparts: We examined whether trait impulsiveness plays a role by investigating the associations between dietary restraint, trait impulsiveness, and PSRS. Results showed that the interaction between dietary restraint and impulsiveness predicted dieting success: A lower level of impulsiveness was associated with greater dieting success among restrained eaters. These results suggest that restrained eaters who are less impulsive are more likely to become successful restrained eaters as identified with the PSRS. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attention bias for food could be a cognitive pathway to overeating in obesity and restrained eating. Yet, empirical evidence for individual differences (e.g., in restrained eating and body mass index) in attention bias for food is mixed. We tested experimentally if temporarily induced health versus palatability mindsets influenced attention bias for food, and whether restrained eating moderated this relation. After manipulating mindset (health vs. palatability) experimentally, food-related attention bias was measured by eye-movements (EM) and response latencies (RL) during a visual probe task depicting high-calorie food and non-food. Restrained eating was assessed afterwards. A significant interaction of mindset and restrained eating on RL bias emerged, β = 0.36, t(58) = 2.05, p = 0.045: A health mindset - as compared to a palatability mindset - attenuated attention bias for high-caloric food only in participants with higher eating restraint. No effects were observed on EM biases. The current results demonstrate that state differences in health versus palatability mindsets can cause attenuated attention bias for high-calorie food cues in participants with higher eating restraint. Our findings add to emerging evidence that state differences in mindsets can bias attention for food, above the influence of trait differences.

International audience; The aims of this research is to highlight similarities and differences as well as pros and cons of face-to-face and online weight loss support communities. Thus, opinions from nutrition experts and online communities’ users are gathered. Results show that these two types of communities are similar (shared goal, mutual support, immediacy) but also different (relationship closeness, ease of expression, degree of involvement). Positive and negative effects are emphasized in a general path (support, accessibility, involvement) and then applied to eating behaviors (food diversification, restrained choices).; L'objectif de cette recherche est d'étudier les effets des communautés en ligne de soutien à la perte de poids. Les similitudes et les différences ainsi que les aspects positifs et négatifs des communautés en face-à-face et des communautés en ligne de perte de poids sont mises en évidence, grâce à des avis d'experts en nutrition et d'utilisateurs de communautés en ligne. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que ces deux types de communautés sont similaires (intérêt commun, entraide, immédiateté) mais aussi différents (proximité de la relation, facilité d'expression, degré d'implication). Les effets positifs et négatifs sont aussi mis en lumière de façon générale (soutien, accessibilité, implication) puis appliqués aux comportements alimentaires (diversification de l'alimentation, choix restrictifs).

European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 ERC-StG-2014 639445 “NewEat”

Executive functioning (e.g., working memory) is tightly intertwined with self-regulation. For example, food cue-elicited craving has been found to impair working memory performance. Furthermore, current dieters have been found to show lower working memory performance than non-dieters. Recent research, however, suggests that it is crucial to consider dieting success in addition to current dieting status or restrained eating in order to reveal cognitive mechanisms that are associated with successful eating-related self-regulation. The current study investigated food cue-related working memory performance as a function of dieting status and dieting success in female students. Participants performed an n-back task with pictures of food and neutral objects. Reaction time in response to food pictures was slower than in response to neutral pictures, whereas omission errors did not differ between picture types. Current food craving was increased after performing the food block, but not after the neutral block. There was an indirect effect of current dieting status on higher food craving after the food block, which was mediated by slower reaction time to food vs. neutral pictures. Furthermore, higher dieting success was associated with fewer omission errors in the food vs. neutral block in current dieters. There were no relationships of restrained eating with current food craving and task performance. Results further highlight the need to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful dieting in addition to current dieting status or restrained eating when examining possible mechanisms of overeating or successful restraint. Although palatable food cues induce food craving regardless of dieting success, they may boost executive functioning in successful dieters, which helps them to overcome these temptations. Adrian Meule (VLID)1759842

We examined whether exposure to cues of attractive food reduces effortful behavior toward healthy foods for restrained eaters. After manipulating food pre-exposure, we recorded handgrip force while presenting participants with pictures of healthy food objects. Because participants were led to expect that they could obtain each object (not specified beforehand) by squeezing the handgrip as forcefully as possible while the object was displayed on the screen, the recorded handgrip force constitutes a measure of spontaneous effortful behavior. Results show that restrained eaters, but not unrestrained eaters, displayed less forceful action toward healthy food objects (i.e., lower exertion of force) when pre-exposed to tempting food cues. No effects were found on palatability perceptions of the healthy foods. The results provide further insight into why restrained eaters have difficulties in maintaining a low-calorie diet in food-rich environments. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Objective: To test the construct validity and discriminative validity of the widely used Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire's (DEBQ) External Eating (EE) subscale. Method: After being exposed to food cues or not participants completed a bogus taste test. Subjective cue reactivity during food exposure and actual food intake after food exposure were measured. Results: EE scores were unrelated to food intake. A robust main effect of food cue exposure was found but contrary to what was predicted, low EE scorers ate more after food cue exposure than without whereas high EE scorers did not. The actual eating behavior of high and low scorers on the other DEBQ subscales - emotional and restrained eating - demonstrated that the EE also lacks discriminative validity. Discussion: The EE showed no predictive validity and no discriminative validity. The usefulness of the distinction of different types of concerned eaters is questioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

In two studies, it was examined whether dietary restraint is associated with stronger positive implicit attitudes toward high calorie food. This hypothesis was tested using unipolar IAT variants that allowed us to separately measure and examine positive and negative implicit associations with high calorie food. In both studies, results showed that restrained eaters do not differ from unrestrained eaters with respect to negative implicit associations with high calorie food. However, dietary restraint does influence the strength of positive implicit associations with high calorie food: When positive implicit associations with high calorie food were measured relative to low calorie food, restrained and unrestrained eaters did not differ with respect to their implicit preferences for high versus low calorie food. In contrast, when positive implicit associations with high calorie food were assessed using non-relative IAT variants, restrained eaters showed stronger positive implicit associations with high calorie food than unrestrained eaters. Thus, restrained eaters show stronger implicit liking for high calorie food compared to unrestrained eaters.

A obesidade é uma doença de alta prevalência no mundo e é responsável por sérias repercussões orgânicas e psicossociais, desde a infância até a vida adulta. O comportamento alimentar tem bases biológicas e sociais e, associado, à obesidade, torna-se um processo ainda mais complexo pelos aspectos psicológicos envolvidos, os quais se expressam por meio de humor depressivo, ansiedade, sentimento de culpa e, também, por mecanismos fisiológicos, como a resistência ao jejum na vigência de dietas restritivas. Há evidências de que, em indivíduos obesos, comportamentos de compulsão alimentar e ou restrição são mais freqüentes e parecem ser, em parte, responsáveis pelos fracassos observados no tratamento da obesidade. As restrições e auto-imposições das pessoas que fazem dieta, parecem ter um efeito rebote, resultando em compulsão alimentar, a qual pode associar-se a conseqüências psicológicas, como a perda da auto-estima, mudanças de humor e distração. As reflexões desta revisão sugerem que os programas para redução de peso corporal devem enfocar as bases do comportamento alimentar e desenvolver, efetivamente, ações interdisciplinares que permitam obter resultados eficazes no tratamento da obesidade.Obesity is a widespread disease in the world, responsible for serious organic and psychosocial repercussions, from infancy to adulthood. Eating behavior has biological as well as social bases. Associated to obesity, it becomes an even more complex process, since it is accompanied by psychological aspects showing symptoms such as depressive moods, anxiety, feelings of guilt, and physiological mechanisms as, for instance, the resistance to fast during restrictive diets. Obese individuals prevalently present behaviors such as binge or restrained eating, both leading to failure in the treatment of obesity. Restrained eating refers to the tendency to restrict food intake consciously, in order to prevent weight gain or to promote weight loss, which may be associated to episodes of overeating and have psychological consequences as, for example, the loss of self-steam, mood distress and distraction. The results of this review suggest that weight control programs should focus on the bases of eating behaviors, and, effectively, develop interdisciplinary courses of action in order to obtain positive results in the treatment of obesity.

By applying regulatory focus theory (RFT) to the context of eating behavior, the present research examines the relations between individual differences in the two motivational orientations as conceptualized in RFT, that is, prevention-focused and promotion-focused self-regulation and emotional, external, and restrained eating. Building on a representative study conducted in the Netherlands (N = 4,230), it is documented that individual differences in prevention focus are positively related to emotional eating whereas negligible associations are found in regards to external and restrained eating. Individual differences in promotion focus are positively related to external eating whereas negligible associations are found in regards to emotional and restrained eating. In relating RFT to different eating styles we were able to document significant relations of basic self-regulatory orientations with regard to essential daily behavior associated with health and well-being. The implications for changing eating styles are discussed., publishedVersion

Research in normal weight individuals paradoxically suggests that measures of attempted eating restriction might represent robust predictors of weight gain. This review examined the extent to which measures of dieting (e.g., self-reported weight loss dieting in the past year) and dietary restraint (e.g., the Cognitive Restraint scale from the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) have prospectively predicted weight change. We located and reviewed 25 prospective studies containing 40 relevant comparisons. Studies were limited to those in which participants were non-obese (with a mean BMI between 18.5 and 30) and averaged at least 12 years old. Neither measure predicted future weight loss. Fifteen of the 20 comparisons (75%) that examined measures of dieting significantly predicted future weight gain whereas only 1 of 20 (5%) that examined restrained eating measures did so. Two plausible explanations for these findings are that: (1) dieters and restrained eaters do not differ in terms of an underlying proneness toward weight gain, but restrained eating represents a more effective means of preventing it; and (2) normal weight individuals who diet do so because they are resisting a powerful predisposition toward weight gain which dieting ultimately fails to prevent. Recent dieting in non-obese individuals may be a valuable proxy of susceptibility to weight gain. This easily assessed characteristic could identify individuals for whom obesity prevention interventions would be particularly appropriate.

This thesis is a qualitative investigation of the factors which maintain anorexia nervosa (AN) according to the transdiagnostic theory of eating disorders (Fairburn et al., 2003). AN is difficult to treat and continues to evade complete understanding. The present study aimed to promote further understanding of food restriction and physical activity in relation to the constructs of clinical perfectionism, core low self-esteem, mood intolerance, and interpersonal difficulties. Twenty females with self-reported AN were recruited from Guelph, Ontario and participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed eight major themes for clinical perfectionism, five for core low self-esteem, five for mood intolerance, and six for interpersonal difficulties. The in-depth emotional accounts and details of food restriction and physical activity in relation to the four constructs examined in this study may contribute to further appreciation of AN, informing practitioners and family members, promoting empathy, and improving treatment options.

This experiment examined fast (orientation) and slow (disengagement) components of attention to food and interpersonal threat words in high and low restrained eaters using a modified Stroop task. Target words (food, interpersonal ego threat, neutral) were presented prior to a sequence of four matched neutral words. Participants were slow to disengage from food and ego threat words, and this pattern was particularly striking for the high restraint group. Findings show no evidence of an orientation bias but indicate that slowed disengagement from these stimuli can be demonstrated consistently using the Stroop task. However, restraint was not a significant predictor, and slowed disengagement was also found in the neutral condition, suggesting a categorical effect. This study provides important suggestions for modifications of Stroop tasks designed to target both attention bias and disengagement. Implications of slowed disengagement from disorder-relevant stimuli are discussed in relation to the development of disordered eating.

Dieting and the wish to lose weight are ubiquitous in our society. Only few people, however, are successful in long-term weight loss and -maintenance. The Perceived Self-Regulatory Success in Dieting Scale (PSRS) is a succinct 3-item measure that can be used to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful dieters. However, psychometric properties of the scale have not yet been investigated. We re-analyzed data from several studies and demonstrate validity and reliability of the PSRS. Internal consistency was reasonably high (Cronbach’s alpha = .72–.79). Item means were medium and item-total-correlations were high. Validity of the scale was demonstrated such that it correlated negatively with body-mass-index (BMI), concern for dieting, rigid dietary control, food cravings, food addiction symptoms, and binge eating. Flexible dietary control was positively associated with the PSRS. We conclude that the PSRS constitutes a valid and reliable measure to efficiently assess dieting success.

"Body dissatisfaction is regarded as a powerful risk factor for dietary restraint and bulimic behavior among women. Objective. To compare Mexican and German women’s body image and eating risk factors by developing structural models to find similarities or differences between the two samples. Participants. The non-random sample of N = 404 (Mexican: 175; German: 229) medical and nursing students (total Mage = 20.6, SD = 0.86) answered standardized scales (EAT and EDI) and a culture-free 10-silhouette scale on body dissatisfaction. Hypothesis . The main hypothesis proposed that Mexican women will show a stronger relationship between body dissatisfaction and restrained diet than the German women will. Results .The findings confirmed this hypothesis by showing that in the relationship dissatisfaction-dieting, the Mexican group obtained the highest values of the correlation and determination coefficients, compared to the German group. Discussion .Mexican women underestimated their body size, and it could be that body size underestimation lessens social pressure. It is concluded that whether this may be seen as a contradictory result or as a cognitive-defensive strategy in order to minimize the pressure experienced must be decided with further investigation."