Dietary restraint, attributional styles for eating, and preloading effects

Feeling well surrounded: Perceived societal support fosters healthy eating

Societal resources (e.g. recreational facilities, free online information, healthy food retail) are consistently found to be important facilitators for healthy eating. In the current research, we propose that healthy eating is not only facilitated by the actual available support in society, but equally well by individuals' subjective perception on how helpful the provided support truly is. We refer to the latter as "perceived societal support" and examine how this influences healthy eating. Across two experimental studies, we observe that perceived societal support positively affects healthy eating: People who perceive the available support as helpful are more likely to choose healthy food over unhealthy food (study 1) and consume less from an unhealthy food product (study 2) compared to people who perceive the available support as less helpful. These findings do not only contribute to existing literature on societal support and healthy eating behavior, but also provide important policy implications.

Mentalization and the left inferior frontal gyrus and insula

OBJECTIVE

To determine if an interpersonal attribution bias associated with self-perception, the externalizing bias, was related to neural activations during mentalization.

METHODS

A functional magnetic resonance imaging task involving verbal appraisals measured neural activations when thinking about oneself and others in 59 adults, including healthy women as well as women with and recovered from anorexia nervosa. Whole-brain regressions correlated brain function during mentalization with the externalizing bias measured using the Internal, Personal, and Situational Attributions Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Women with anorexia nervosa had a lower externalizing bias, demonstrating a tendency to self-attribute more negative than positive social interactions, unlike the other groups. The externalizing bias was correlated with activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus and posterior insula, when comparing thinking about others evaluating oneself with direct self-evaluation.

DISCUSSION

Externalizing biases may provide an office-based assay reflecting neurocognitive disturbances in social self-perception that are common during anorexia nervosa.

Wanting and liking: Separable components in problematic eating behavior?

Some individuals may have an addictive-like response to certain foods, possibly contributing to problematic eating. Highly processed foods, with added fats and/or refined carbohydrates, are suggested to be most associated with addictive-like eating. The incentive sensitization theory suggests that wanting (e.g. craving) may drive compulsive drug use rather than liking (e.g. enjoyment), but it is unknown whether highly processed foods elicit similar wanting and liking patterns as drugs of abuse, or whether individual differences exist. The current study examines the association of highly processed foods with craving and liking, and whether these relationships differ by food addiction symptomology, cognitive restraint, or body mass index (BMI). Participants (n = 216) reported craving and liking for 35 foods and completed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Highly processed foods were craved more overall. Craving of highly processed foods was predicted negatively by restraint and positively by YFAS score. Liking of highly processed foods was predicted negatively by restraint and positively by BMI. In conclusion, craving and liking appear distinct with respect to highly processed foods, and may be influenced by addictive-like eating, cognitive restraint, and BMI. This suggests that the incentive sensitization framework may also be relevant for problematic food consumption, especially for individuals reporting food addiction symptoms.

Construct validation of the Portuguese version of the Restraint Scale

Aim

The main purpose of this study was to adapt the Restraint Scale (RS) to Portuguese and examine its psychometric properties, specifically its construct validity.

Method

In this study, 238 normal-weight adults (82% women; Mean age = 36.6, SD = 15.0) participated in an online survey containing measures of Restraint Scale, Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness scales.

Results

Exploratory factor analyses corroborated the two-factors structure found in previous studies, in particular when three items without clear factorial assignment and low correlation were excluded. A final two-factors version of the RS containing seven items presented a very good fit to the measurement model and good internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis of the 7-items RS in relation to a three-factor model of overeating, dieting and body dissatisfaction measures revealed that the RS was the only restraint measure loading in all three factors.

Conclusion

This suggests that the 7-items Portuguese version of the RS has good psychometric properties and unique features that lend it appropriate to identify and study unsuccessful chronic dieters.

Restrained eaters consume more food only if they are impulsive and male

This study utilised the preload paradigm to evaluate whether dietary restraint, impulsivity, or their interaction significantly predicts heightened food consumption among male and/or female participants. Following a high calorie preload, 79 participants aged 18 to 40 (53 females and 26 males) completed a deceptive taste test and questionnaires measuring restraint and impulsivity levels. A series of hierarchical regressions were run, controlling for self-rated hunger levels. A significant negative association between level of restraint and food consumption post-preload was found for males, but this relationship was not significant for female participants. The hypothesis that impulsivity would directly predict heightened food consumption was not supported for either gender. However, impulsivity was found to significantly moderate the relationship between restraint and food intake in the male sample, but not the female, providing partial support for this hypothesis. Potential reasons for this gender-specific interaction effect of impulsivity and restraint for food consumption are discussed. More broadly, present findings highlight the need for further consideration of the role of impulsivity in undermining food intake of restrained eaters. Future research should also consider how preload effects may differ across gender.

The construct validity of the Restraint Scale among mainland Chinese women

This study aimed to test the construct validity of the newly developed Chinese version of the Revised Restraint Scale (RRS) in two separate female samples from Chinese universities (n(1) = 171; n(2) = 158). The RRS is the most widely used measure of restricted eating for the purpose of achieving or maintaining a desired weight. Results showed that the 10-item Chinese RRS comprised of two subscales of concern dieting (CD) and weight fluctuation (WF), which together accounted for 53.01% of the total variance. Confirmative factor analysis supported this two-factor model as an acceptable model (χ(2)/df = 1.545, p < 0.001; RMSEA=0.059, GFI=0.938, and CFI=0.935). Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.77 for RRS, 0.71 for CD and 0.66 for WF. Significant correlations were shown between RRS and its subscales ((rRRS-CD) = 0.894, p < 0.01; r(RRS-WF) = 0.850, p < 0.01; r(CD-WF) = 0.523, p < 0.01). Moreover, RS significantly correlated with the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R (TFEQ-R), the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire-R (DEBQ-R), the Fatness Concern (FC) and the body measure index (BMI) (r = 0.548, p < 0.01; r = 0.631, p < 0.01; r = 0.620, p < 0.01; r = 0.351, p < 0.01, respectively). In sum, the RS has stable factor structure, acceptable internal consistency and satisfactory convergent reliability among female Chinese college students. The adapted scale may serve as a useful tool for identifying restrained and unrestrained eaters among Chinese women and may be particularly useful in assessing eating restraint before and after prevention and intervention programs.

A conative educational model for an intervention program in obese youth

BACKGROUND

Obesity in children has increased in recent years throughout the world and is associated with adverse health consequences. Early interventions, including appropriate pedagogy strategies, are important for a successful intervention program. The aim of this study was to assess changes in body mass index, the ability to perform sport activities, behavior in the classroom and academic performance following one year of a health-wellness intervention program in obese youth.

METHODS

The CEMHaVi program included 37 obese children (19 girls and 18 boys). Participants received an intervention program consisting of physical activity and health education. Assessment included body mass index, academic performance, classroom performance and ability to perform sport activities. Paired t tests were used to assess the effects of intervention, and chi square was used to assess inter-action between measures.

RESULTS

Findings of the study suggest significant decrease in Z scores of Body Mass Index and an improvement of academic performance, classroom behavior and the ability to perform sport activities (p < 0.05). Chi square testing showed significant positive inter-actions between body mass index, classroom behavior and academic performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Results following year one of CEMHaVi showed that a program of physical activity and health education had positive effects on obesity, behavior in the classroom and the ability to perform sport activities in obese adolescents. Significant inter-action in changes between variables was observed. Findings are important for designing intervention models to improve health in obese youth.

The relation between the lack of control attributional style for indulgent food consumption and bulimic symptoms

OBJECTIVE

The study examined the potential link between the lack of control attributional style for indulgent food consumption and bulimic symptoms.

METHOD

One hundred and 77 undergraduates (145 female; mean age=19 years-2 months) were administered the Eating Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Sterling Eating Disorder Scales across a five-month period.

RESULTS

SEM analyses confirmed that: (1) uncontrollability attributions for indulgent food consumption were concurrently associated with bulimic symptoms, and (2) external locus of control and uncontrollability attributions for indulgent food consumption predicted changes in bulimic symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings yielded support for the conclusion that the lack of control attributional style for indulgent food consumption is a probable cause of bulimic symptoms.

Effects of exercise and restrained eating behaviour on appetite control

Obesity is a global epidemic; increased consumption of energy-dense food and reduced physical activity levels are likely to be the main drivers. Previous cross-sectional research has shown that sedentary males, unlike their active counterparts, are unable to compensate for previous energy intake (EI). Using a longitudinal design a 6-week exercise intervention was found to improve short-term appetite control, leading to a more ‘sensitive’ eating behaviour in response to previous EI, both acutely at a test meal and for the next 24 h. Although the mechanisms whereby acute and chronic exercise improves short-term appetite remain unknown, post-ingestive satiety peptides are likely to be involved. Acute exercise was found to increase postprandial levels of polypeptide YY, glucagon-like peptide-1 and pancreatic polypeptide but to have no impact on ghrelin, suggesting that exercise can trigger physiological changes in satiety hormone secretion that could help in appetite control and weight maintenance. In the context of an increased availability of highly-palatable food, dietary restraint may be increasingly important. Although restraint has been associated with abnormal eating behaviour, in the laboratory no counter-regulation was found in restrained eaters when presented with a buffet meal 60 min after a high-energy preload or when a pasta-meal was presented 3 h after preloading. Although restraint was not found to impact on polypeptide YY or TAG, lower postprandial glucose and insulin plasma levels were observed in restrained eaters, together with increased feelings of fullness. In conclusion, short-term appetite control seems to be favourably modified by exercise, while the impact of restraint on appetite seems to be more complex.

Effects of priming thoughts about control on anxiety and food intake as moderated by dietary restraint

The study was designed to examine: (a) if activating thoughts about control affects anxiety and food intake and (b) if those effects are moderated by dietary restraint. Eighty female undergraduates were administered the Dietary Restraint questionnaire and were primed for cognitions of control or of lack of control. The participants' perceptions of control over food consumption, their state anxiety, and their food intake as part of an alleged taste-test, were assessed. As evidence for the effectiveness of priming, participants reported less control over food consumption after being primed for lack of control than for control cognitions. As expected, Restraint score was negatively correlated with perceived control over food consumption. Consistent with hypothesis, participants high in dietary restraint experienced greater anxiety after being primed for control than after priming for lack of control, whereas participants low in dietary restraint displayed the opposite pattern. These findings were consistent with the cognitive dissonance principle that individuals experience greater anxiety when cognitions are inconsistent with personal beliefs than when they are consistent. As expected, priming thoughts of lack of control resulted in greater food intake than did priming thoughts of control, supporting the hypothesis of a nonconscious, automatic link between cognitions and food intake.

The effects of modeling dietary restraint on food consumption: do restrained models promote restrained eating?

Sixty-nine female undergraduates completed the restraint scale, a dieting checklist, and the Eating Attribution Style Questionnaire (EASQ). The participants were exposed either to no model, a peer model who behaviorally demonstrated dietary restraint, or a peer model who behaviorally and verbally demonstrated dietary restraint. The participants had an opportunity to consume food as part of a taste test. The findings revealed that attribution style, but not restraint or current dieting status, moderated the effects of exposure to the peer models. Females who had an internal attribution style for indulgent food consumption decreased their consumption of food as a function of the dietary restraint of the models, whereas females who had an external attribution style for indulgent food consumption increased their consumption of food as a function of the dietary restraint of the models. The latter disinhibitory effect was attributed to negative social comparison and learned helplessness. The results supported the conclusion that the effectiveness of modeling dietary restraint is dependent on the attribution style of the observers.