The assessment of restrained eating

"This snack is too small - I'll take a different one": Quantifying 'norm' and 'choice' boundaries to inform effective portion-reduction strategies

Previous research suggests that portion sizes can be categorised as 'normal' or 'abnormal' and that reduced portions which are still categorised as normal do not promote compensatory responses in intake. However, a critical question remains - will consumers choose a reduced portion product from among standard portion competitors? For the first time, we explore the effects of portion reduction on food choice. Participants (N = 45) categorised 20 different portions (range 40-420 kcal) of five snacks as normal or abnormal (to quantify individual 'norm boundaries' for each food) and rated their desire to eat each snack. Using a 2-alternative forced choice hypothetical task, we then calculated a 'choice boundary' by offering smaller portions of their most-desired snack (range 40-240 kcal) alongside standardised portions (240 kcal) of the less-desired foods. Boundaries were derived using probit analysis (choice boundary mean = 185.8 kcal, SD = 54, norm boundary mean = 127.3 kcal, SD = 49.5) and these deviated significantly (p < .01, d = 0.98, mean difference = 58.0 kcal, SD = 59.1). Critically, this shows that only a small reduction - where the product is still considered normal - can nudge a consumer to select an alternative. Choice boundaries were also affected by differences in desire to eat; when two foods were desired to a similar degree, only minor reductions in the size of the favourite food elicited a switch in choice. Together, these findings indicate that portion reduction can also influence food choice, highlighting the importance of measuring choice boundaries before reformulating commercial products.

Atoning Past Indulgences: Oral Consumption and Moral Compensation

Previous research has shown that moral failures increase compensatory behaviors, such as prosociality and even self-punishment, because they are strategies to re-establish one's positive moral self-image. Do similar compensatory behaviors result from violations in normative eating practices? Three experiments explored the moral consequences of recalling instances of perceived excessive food consumption. In Experiment 1 we showed that women recalling an overeating (vs. neutral) experience reported more guilt and a desire to engage in prosocial behavior in the form of so-called self-sacrificing. In Experimental 2 this logic was applied to actual spontaneous helping behaviors toward an experimenter, with participants who recalled an overeating (vs. neutral) experience exhibiting more such helping in the laboratory. Experimental 3 expanded the investigation to self-inflicted pain: overeating (vs. neutral) recall led to higher levels of self-punishment as indicted by longer time periods spent engaging in the cold pressor task. In sum, failures in normative food consumption can be viewed as moral transgressions that elicits both interpersonal and intrapersonal compensatory behaviors aimed at restoring a positive moral self-image.

Do restrained eaters show increased BMI, food craving and disinhibited eating? A comparison of the Restraint Scale and the Restrained Eating scale of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire

Despite being used interchangeably, different measures of restrained eating have been associated with different dietary behaviours. These differences have impeded replicability across the restraint literature and have made it difficult for researchers to interpret results and use the most appropriate measure for their research. Across a total sample of 1731 participants, this study compared the Restraint Scale (RS), and its subscales, to the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) across several traits related to overeating. The aim was to explore potential differences between these two questionnaires so that we could help to identify the most suitable measure as a prescreening tool for eating-related interventions. Results revealed that although the two measures are highly correlated with one another (rs = 0.73-0.79), the RS was more strongly associated with external (rs = -0.07 to 0.11 versus -0.18 to -0.01) and disinhibited eating (rs = 0.46 versus 0.31), food craving (rs = 0.12-0.27 versus 0.02-0.13 and 0.22 versus -0.06) and body mass index (rs = 0.25-0.34 versus -0.13 to 0.15). The results suggest that, compared to the DEBQ, the RS is a more appropriate measure for identifying individuals who struggle the most to control their food intake.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Body Dissatisfaction in Estonian and Australian Young Adults and its Relationship with Media Exposure

The study investigated body image in young adults from two countries with different histories of media exposure. Questionnaires assessing body dissatisfaction, dieting, disordered eating, leisure pursuits, and media exposure were administered to 394 Australian university students and 415 Estonian university students. Although there were large gender differences between men and women, in contrast to prediction, there were relatively few differences on body concern between Australian and Estonian students.

Symptoms of Psychopathology Within Groups of Eating-Disordered, Restrained Eating, and Unrestrained Eating Individuals

OBJECTIVE

While eating-disordered individuals have shown high levels of comorbid psychopathology, there has not been an assessment of these symptoms across groups exhibiting different forms of problematic eating behavior.

METHOD

Using 1,122 participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk, this study examined self-reported differences between controls, restrained eaters, and individuals meeting criteria for binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa on several measures of psychopathology unrelated to eating.

RESULTS

On nearly all outcome measures, eating-disordered participants had greater symptoms of psychopathology compared to restrained eaters, who had greater levels compared to controls. Among the eating-disordered participants, bulimia nervosa participants had more symptoms of psychopathology than binge eating-disordered participants.

CONCLUSION

Treatment of the populations included in this study may be informed by an understanding of the different amounts of symptoms of comorbid psychopathology that confer additional distress and impairment above and beyond disordered eating behavior.

The effect of variety and dietary restraint on food intake in lean young women: a preliminary study

When satiety develops specific to sensory properties of food, variety leads to increased eating. The relationship between meal variety and dietary restraint was explored here in lean young women (18-20 years), classified into unrestrainers versus restrainers using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire Restrained Eating Scale. The expected variety effect obtained for unrestrainers (p < .05) but not for restrainers, despite a typical sensitivity to sensory-specific satiety and the same rate of habituation to sensory-based food responses (i.e., hedonics) across them. Unrestrainers' eating appeared guided by hedonics (p < .05), but not restrainers'. These results suggest the potential involvement of an internal or participant characteristic, instead of an external factor, in moderating unrestrainers' versus restrainers' food consumption when offered a highly desired food (the favorite in the plain condition) versus less desired (but accepted) foods (presented successively with the favorite in the variety condition). Study limitations and suggestions for further research were discussed.

Who likes it more? Restrained eaters' implicit attitudes towards food

Previous work has been unclear as to how restrained eating is related to implicit attitudes towards food. The present paper introduces a new variant of the affective priming paradigm to measure implicit attitudes towards food among restrained and unrestrained eaters, using food pictures as primes and emoticons as targets. Results of two studies show that while unrestrained eaters evaluate palatable foods more positively than neutral and unpalatable foods, restrained eaters do not. In addition, it is shown that restrained eaters have stronger evaluations of the negative aspects of palatable food, and this influences their food attitudes. Thus, the present findings suggest that restrained eaters' chronic goal of dieting impacts their implicit attitude towards food items via their perception of the negative aspects of palatable food. These results are discussed with regard to the role of attitudes in the regulation of eating behavior.

Food cue exposure and body image satisfaction: the moderating role of BMI and dietary restraint

Effects of cue exposure to high and low-caloric food on body image satisfaction and the moderating role of body mass index (BMI) and restraint were investigated in 77 lean unrestrained, lean restrained and overweight restrained females. Body (BS) and weight satisfaction (WS) were assessed before and after the cue exposure. Lean restrained participants were significantly less satisfied with their weight after cue exposure to high-caloric foods in comparison to cue exposure to low-caloric foods, whereas no such effect was present in overweight restrained and lean unrestrained participants. Low-caloric food cues did not influence WS. Food cues had a nonsignificant trend effect on BS. Yet, only lean unrestrained participants experienced significantly more BS in response to food cue exposure.

Ethnic differences in predictors of adolescent smoking onset and escalation: A longitudinal study from 7th to 12th grade

The present study sought to determine whether risk factors for cigarette smoking onset have a stronger influence on Black versus White children, and whether those patterns differ for nonsmokers versus experimental smokers. As part of a larger study, 5,213 seventh graders were surveyed annually for 5 years. The survey instrument assessed cigarette smoking, along with a variety of background variables thought to influence smoking. Results indicated that rebelliousness predicted smoking onset for Black nonsmokers; peer modeling was more influential for Whites. For both ethnicities, socially isolated children were at increased risk. The variables that predicted the shift from experimental to regular smoking were for the most part different from those that predicted smoking onset. Specifically, youths who lived with smokers, viewed smoking as a means to a goal, and experienced few adverse physiological effects of smoking were more likely to increase their cigarette consumption. Overall, we found that, contrary to previous research, risk factors for smoking differed across ethnicity. Further, smoking onset appears to be shaped by forces different from those that accelerate consumption.

Rapid progression to regular cigarette smoking among nonsmoking adolescents: interactions with gender and ethnicity

BACKGROUND

While the correlates and predictors associated with transition through the stages of smoking acquisition have received substantial attention, the identification of factors associated with the time course of progression remain generally unexplored.

METHODS

We identified adolescents escalating from nonsmoking to regular smoking in 1 year as rapid progressors (n = 98) and those escalating from nonsmoking to experimental smoking in 1 year as slow progressors (n = 555). We entered demographic and psychosocial variables, initial reactions to smoking variables, and their interactions with gender and ethnicity into a logistic regression analysis comparing rapid progressors to slow progressors.

RESULTS

At baseline, rapid progressors reported more friends who smoked regularly. Girls who reported more concern with dieting and less social success were more likely to progress to regular smoking within 1 year; these variables did not influence progression in boys. Those who associated positive feelings with their initial smoking experience were more likely to progress to regular smoking. Differences between white and African American youth emphasize the importance of physiological interpretations of initial smoking experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that even as nonsmokers, adolescents likely to progress quickly to regular smoking can be identified. Researchers designing prevention programs should take these factors into account.

Psychological and behavioral correlates of baseline BMI in the diabetes prevention program (DPP)

OBJECTIVE

To determine psychological and behavioral correlates of baseline BMI in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Of 1,079 DPP lifestyle intervention participants, 274 completed validated questionnaires at baseline assessing weight loss history, stage of change, self-efficacy, dietary restraint, emotional eating, binge eating, perceived stress, depression, and anxiety.

RESULTS

The mean age of subjects was 52.5 years, 65% were women, and their mean BMI was 33.9 kg/m(2). Higher BMI correlated with more frequent weight cycling (r = 0.50, P < 0.0001) and efforts at weight loss (r = 0.34, P < 0.0001); younger age when first overweight (r = -0.42, P < 0.0001); lower exercise efficacy (r = -0.15, P = 0.015); lower weight loss efficacy (r = -0.21, P < 0.001); a less advanced stage of change for weight loss (r = -0.12, P = 0.04); more perceived stress (r = 0.14, P = 0.02); emotional eating (r = 0.19, P = 0.001); poor dietary restraint (r = -0.14, P = 0.02); binge eating frequency (r = 0.18, P = 0.004) and severity (r = 0.30, P < 0.0001); feeling deprived, angry, or upset while dieting (r = 0.27, P </= 0.0001); and food cravings while dieting (r = 0.31, P < 0.0001). Correlations did not differ as a function of sex; however, correlations of BMI with anxiety and low-fat diet and weight loss self-efficacy differed as a function of ethnicity. In multivariate models, binge eating severity, poor dietary restraint, and food craving were independent correlates of baseline BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

Many psychological and behavioral factors are associated with higher BMI in this ethnically diverse group of men and women. Whether strategies that help patients increase levels of dietary restraint and reduce binge eating and food craving lead to long-term weight loss maintenance needs longitudinal study.

Intraclass correlation among measures related to cigarette use by adolescents: estimates from an urban and largely African American cohort

This paper presents the first estimates of school-level intraclass correlation (ICC) for smoking-related variables from an urban and largely African American population. Seventh graders (n = 6967) from 39 middle schools in Memphis, TN, were measured at baseline in 1994 and annually through 1997. Mixed model regression methods were used to estimate variance components for school and residual error. School-level ICCs were large enough, if ignored, to substantially inflate the Type I error rate in an analysis of treatment effects. We show how those correlations can be reduced using regression adjustments and used to determine sample size for future school-based smoking prevention studies.

The measurement of dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger: an examination of the factor structure of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ)

OBJECTIVE

To conduct separate factor analyses of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R, TFEQ-D and TFEQ-H) scales and provide initial evidence of the construct validity of the obtained solutions.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey with a 12 month retest of a subsample of subjects.

SUBJECTS

A total of 553 undergraduate university women with a mean age of 25.0 y. The retest sample comprised 64 subjects with a mean age at retest of 25.7 y.

MEASUREMENTS

In addition to the TFEQ, age, body mass index (BMI), satisfaction with current weight, nutrition knowledge and current exercise level were recorded.

RESULTS

Three restraint (strategic dieting behaviour, attitude to self-regulation, avoidance of fattening foods), three disinhibition (habitual susceptibility, emotional susceptibility, situational susceptibility) and two hunger constructs (internal locus for hunger, external locus for hunger) were identified. Initial evidence of the validity of these constructs was provided.

CONCLUSION

The explanation of disordered eating behaviour is likely to be refined more by specific constructs, such as those presented, rather than by the more general constructs measured by the original TFEQ-R, TFEQ-D and TFEQ-H scales. Further examination of the factor structures presented is therefore encouraged.

Food craving and food "addiction": a critical review of the evidence from a biopsychosocial perspective

Although certain commonalities exist between eating and drug use (mood effects, external cue-control of appetites, reinforcement, etc. ), it is argued that the vast majority of cases of (self-reported) food craving and food "addiction" should not be viewed as addictive behavior. An explanation is proposed that instead gives a prominent role to the psychological processes of ambivalence and attribution, operating together with normal mechanisms of appetite control, the hedonic effects of certain foods, and socially and culturally determined perceptions of appropriate intakes and uses of those foods. Ambivalence (e.g., "nice but naughty") about foods such as chocolate arises from the attitude that it is highly palatable but should be eaten with restraint. Attempts to restrict intake, however, cause the desire for chocolate to become more salient, an experience that is then labelled as a craving. This, together with a need to provide a reason for why resisting eating chocolate is difficult and sometimes fails, can, in turn, lead the individual to an explanation in terms of addiction (e.g., "chocoholism"). Moreishness ("causing a desire for more") occurs during, rather than preceding, an eating episode, and is experienced when the eater attempts to limit consumption before appetite for the food has been sated.

Symptom development in bulimia nervosa: a comparison of women with and without a history of anorexia nervosa

Identifying women at risk for developing bulimia nervosa (BN) is an important area of study for psychiatric-mental health nurses. Of those who develop BN, a large proportion of women have been diagnosed earlier with anorexia nervosa (AN). It has been posited that women who are treated for AN are often only partially recovered. Although their weights become clinically acceptable, they often continue to restrict food; this typically leads to a binge eating and purging cycle and the development of BN. A history of AN is viewed as a possible risk factor for the development of BN. This study compared women seeking treatment for BN with a prior history of AN, and those without this history on selected variables. A profile emerged and is described supporting a distinct subgroup with prior AN. Findings from this study have implications for early detection of and extended follow-up care after treatment for AN.

Stress, dietary restraint and food intake

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between work stress and nutritional status in relation to dietary restraint in a community sample of adults.

METHODS

The design included a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study element. Ninety staff members (58 women and 32 men) of a large department store were assessed on four occasions over a 6-month period with measures of diet, weight, and perceived stress. Work stress was indexed in terms of the hours of work over the past 7 days, which provided an objective indicator of demand.

RESULTS

Participants worked an average of 47 hours on the high-work-stress session compared with 32 hours on the low-work-stress session. The highest work-stress session was compared with the lowest work-stress session in the longitudinal analyses, and the moderating effects of gender and restrained eating were examined. High-workload periods were associated with higher energy and saturated fat and sugar intake. There was a significant moderating effect of restrained eating, with a hyperphagic response to work stress in restrained eaters, compared with no effect in unrestrained eaters.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that the associations between restraint and stress-induced eating that have been observed in the laboratory extend to the real-life setting. They raise the possibility that restrained eaters are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of stress on health, through influences on food intake.

The development and clinical testing of an outpatient program for women with bulimia nervosa

This article describes the development of a cost-effective treatment program for women with Bulimia Nervosa (BN). A comprehensive review of the literature was undertaken to determine the most effective programs. The Time Limited Cognitive Behavioral Program (TLCBP) was developed and clinically tested on two groups of women to determine its cost-effectiveness. The program consisted of a 12-week intervention phase followed by a 14-week support/reinforcement phase. The clinical findings were that 9 of the 10 clients were abstinent following the 12-week intervention. Other symptoms improved following the 14-week phase of support/reinforcement. Utilizing an Advanced Practice Psychiatric-Mental Health Registered Nurse (APRN) significantly reduced the cost of the treatment, as did the use of a group model approach. APRN's have bio-behavioral knowledge as well as research skills. They are in a unique position to conduct outcome research with women with BN, as well as with clients who have other disorders with both biological and behavioral symptoms.

Eating habits and appetite control: a psychobiological perspective

An individual's eating behaviour is shaped by factors ranging from economic conditions and cultural practices to biological influences. The physiological system controlling appetite appears to be adapted to solving the problem of an unevenness of food supply across time, and is fairly permissive in its response to undereating and overeating. Consequently, when food is abundant, the diet is energy dense and energy expenditure is low, there is a strong tendency to become obese (i.e. obesity is better viewed as due to a 'toxic' environment than to faulty physiological control of appetite). Under such conditions the most common method of avoiding obesity is through the cognitive control of eating. However, dietary restraint and dieting are demanding tasks, and are associated with psychological costs, including significant impairment of cognitive performance. Restraint is also prone to disinhibition, with the result that it can sometimes undermine eating control, even leading to the development of highly disordered eating patterns. In part, these difficulties are due to the self-perpetuating nature of dietary habits: for example, hunger tends to be diminished during strict unbroken dieting, but increased in individuals having a highly variable eating pattern (such as occurs when eating is frequently disinhibited). These features of appetite control provide both barriers and opportunities for changing behaviour. Accordingly, there is a need for future research to focus on the psycho-social factors and the dieting practices predicting successful eating and weight control, with the objective of identifying the actual cognitive and behavioural strategies used by the many dieters and restrained eaters who are able to achieve weight loss and maintain long-term weight stability.

A comparison of inpatient and outpatient women with eating disorders

The purpose of this study was to compare two groups of women with eating disorders, one inpatient and one outpatient, on selected variables. The study was undertaken to clarify differences in the two samples about (1) current standards/criteria for hospitalization of individuals with eating disorders, (2) the criteria for inpatient/outpatient treatment selection, and (3) definition of severity of illness. Six hypotheses were developed and tested by using t-test, chi(2), and discriminant function analysis. The findings supported the current standards for practice. Compared with the outpatient group the inpatient group had significantly more reported physical signs and symptoms, were more anxious and depressed, had more somatization, and had more prior hospitalizations. Prior hospitalization and physical signs, along with the eating disorder dimension, ineffectiveness, were the best predictors of hospitalization. Implications for practice that focus on more comprehensive assessments and early detection of eating disorders are presented.

Body image and dieting in pregnancy

The present study evaluated body image, body satisfaction and dieting practices in pregnancy: a stage of life when social pressures for slimness might be expected to be relaxed. Pregnant women had lower scores on the Drive for Thinness subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory, and when Body Mass Index was controlled for, had significantly lower Body Dissatisfaction Scale scores than non-pregnant women. They also rated themselves as less overweight in terms of body size. Dietary restraint was lower and current attempts to lose weight were less frequent in the pregnant group. However, there was no evidence that pregnancy was associated with any relaxation of body image ideals: pregnant women chose a similar size of figure to non-pregnant women as their ideal. These results suggest that the state of pregnancy can be associated with reduced weight concern despite an increased body size, but the effect appears to be state-dependent and is not mediated by shifts in body size ideals.

Restraint and perception of body weight among British adults

A sample of 533 adults (268 women and 265 men) representative of the general population of Great Britain were interviewed so that the extent and effects of restraint, using the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ; Van Strien, Frijters, Bergers, & Defares, 1986) and the extent of overestimation of body weight could be examined. High-restraint subjects reported more guilt about food and eating and a greater likelihood of overeating in reaction to dysphoric mood, and they were more apt to overestimate their body size. Women reported significantly higher restraint, more guilt after eating in various types of social situations, and more overeating in reaction to dysphoric mood. Higher social class was associated with reports of guilt about a greater number of foods and with reports of more overeating when under stress or tired. Age was positively associated with guilt and negatively associated with overeating in reaction to being under stress, tired, or depressed.

Food intake and physical activity: a comparison of three measures of dieting

We examined food preferences, dietary intake, and physical activity in dieters and nondieters using three different methods of dieting classification. One hundred three women and 99 men completed the cognitive restraint subscale of Stunkard and Messick's (1985) Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R) and Herman and Polivy's (1980) Restraint Scale (RS), and answered questions about their current efforts to lose or maintain weight. Women identifying themselves as currently dieting to lose weight reported expending twice as much energy in physical activity compared to those reporting that they were either currently dieting to maintain weight or not dieting. There were no significant differences in dietary intake or physical activity by current dieting status in men. Women chronic dieters identified by high TFEQ-R scores reported lower total calorie intake and less frequent sweets consumption than women with low TFEQ-R scores. In men, those with high TFEQ-R scores reported consuming a greater percent of calories from protein and carbohydrate, less beef, pork, whole milk, and sweets. In women, the RS did not distinguish dieters from nondieters on any measure. In men, the RS results were similar to those from the TFEQ-R. These results show that current measures of dieting are only weakly related to behaviors thought to be indicative of dieting. Future research must develop more precise measures of dieting in order to examine the relationship between self-reports of dieting and behaviors thought to be related to dieting.

Cognitive changes to preloading in restrained and unrestrained eaters as measured by the Stroop task

Restraint theory has identified overeating in response to a high calorie preload as characteristic of restrained eaters. The present study evaluated cognitive and motivational changes to preloading using both self-report rating scales and Stroop tasks. The results suggest that the restrained eaters responded to a high calorie preload with increased feelings of rebelliousness, defiance, and a desire to challenge the limitations set by the diet, described as an active state of mind, as measured by both the Stroop task and the rating scales. The restrained eaters also showed retardation in the color naming of the body size words and food words after the high calorie preload, suggesting that the consumption of a forbidden food may increase the dieter's concern about food and her shape and weight. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of preloading and possible mediating variables involved in the transition from successful restraint to overeating.

The measurement of restraint: confounding success and failure?

The present study examined the concept of restrained eating as measured by the Restraint Scale and the restrained eating section of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. The results showed that when answering questionnaires, subjects do not differentiate between items relating to attempts at dieting and actual restrictive behavior and that restrained eating can be conceptualized in terms of both successful and failed restraint. In addition, the results suggest that subjects who report high scores on both these measures of restraint represent a population of dieters prone to overeating behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the population selected by measures of restrained eating and in relation to the definition of restraint.

Cognitive restraint and sensitivity to cues for hunger and satiety

The present study provides experimental evidence for the effects of cognitive restraint on sensitivity to internal and external cues of hunger. The design involved four experimental conditions. In each condition the subjects were given either a high calorie or a low calorie early morning drink, and either correctly or incorrectly told its calorie content. The subjects, 10 restrained and 10 nonrestrained normal weight women, then rated their subjective hunger and satiety responses and had a test meal. All subjects reported lower sensations of hunger and higher sensations of fullness after the high calorie drink than the low calorie drink, indicating sensitivity to internal cues. However, the restrained eaters' ratings of hunger were also influenced by the believed content of the drink, indicating sensitivity to external cues. The implications of the results are analysed in terms of current theories of restrained eating and their relevance to further research into pathological eating regulation is discussed.

Adolescent concerns about weight and eating; a social-development perspective

Eight hundred and forty-six children from multi-cultural schools in neighbourhoods of differing socio-economic background were interviewed concerning their attitudes to weight and eating. The results suggested that weight concern was high in the girls, with more than 50% feeling too fat and wanting to lose weight. The levels of weight concern were almost as high in the 11 year olds as in the 18 year olds, which suggests that weight concerns are beginning earlier than in the past. White girls reported more concern than black or Asian girls. Girls from higher SES background schools showed more concern than those from lower SES schools, although they were actually slimmer. Dieting was also more common in the girls and especially so in white girls and in those from the higher SES schools. However, it was not as common as has been found in North American samples. Within the field of psychological problems these results are unusual in finding evidence for less difficulty in the children from the least socially and culturally privileged backgrounds.

Eating style: a validation study of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire in normal subjects and women with eating disorders

This study is a validation of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). Results from normal men and women confirmed the presence of three robust factors of restraint, emotional eating and external eating. Data from women attending 'weightwatchers', and patients with diagnoses of anorexia nervosa and bulimia indicated that the DEBQ was largely successful in identifying the eating styles which are thought to characterise these three client groups. The results were also evaluated in the light of predictions from restraint theory which suggest that chronic restraint is causally related to higher levels of externality and emotional eating.

Restraint, body image and food attitudes in children from 12 to 18 years

Body image, dietary restraint, attitudes to food and food intake pattern were assessed in a survey of 348 London schoolchildren from three age groups. The data revealed striking sex differences in body image, restraint and food attitudes, even in the youngest age group (12 to 13 years). The majority of girls felt too fat, attempted to restrict their food intake, and expressed guilt about eating. The boys expressed much less concern in all these areas. No differences were found across the age groups. The results suggested that normal English girls experience significant levels of distress over eating and weight.