Restricted eating refers to consistent, cognitively-mediated efforts to restrict eating for the purpose of weight control. Considerable study has indicated that restricted eaters have cognitive biases in processing food cues, particularly high-energy or palatable food cues, relative to unrestricted eaters. Such biases are associated with specific patterns of electrophysiological activation in regions including the medial prefrontal cortex and cerebellum. Future experimental studies on restricted eating should employ strict selection criteria and employ varied methodological strategies including the odd-one-out and study-test paradigms to elucidate neural bases related to processing food cues and fully identify associated cognitive mechanisms and psychosocial influences in samples of Chinese restricted eaters.

失败的限制性饮食者是进食障碍的高危人群,他们面对食物时的抑制控制能力通常很弱,从而更易发展为肥胖,所以改善失败的限制性饮食者对不健康食物的进食选择十分重要。本文采用在线停止信号任务,通过提高失败的限制性饮食者对不健康食物图片的抑制控制能力,从而减少他们在日常生活中对不健康食物的选择。首先对66名失败的限制性饮食者实施前测,然后随机分为对不健康食物图片进行抑制反应的干预组（n=33）和对非食物图片进行抑制反应的控制组（n=31）,两组被试接受每天一次（每次10 min左右）共计7次的训练。完成训练后,所有被试均接受后测。结果发现,干预训练后,与控制组相比,干预组被试对不健康食物的选择频率以及对不健康食物自我报告的吸引力和喜爱程度均显著降低。

A considerable number of studies have identified selective attentional biases toward food-related information in restrained eaters. However, to date, the nature of information-processing biases that differentiate successful from unsuccessful restrained eaters has yet to be clarified. Based on Stroebe (2008) goal conflict model of eating, the current study was designed to investigate components of attentional bias among successful restrained eaters, unsuccessful restrained eaters, and non-restrained eaters under two conditions: a hedonic goal condition and a restrained goal condition. We hypothesized that within the hedonic goal condition, rapid avoidance would be observed in successful restrained eaters and disengagement difficulties would be displayed among unsuccessful restrained eaters. Conversely, within the restrained goal condition, rapid avoidance of palatable food cues would be present within both categories of restrained eating. From an initial sample of 907 Chinese undergraduate women, we recruited 60 successful restrained eaters, 60 unsuccessful restrained eaters and 60 non-restrained eaters based on scoring cut-offs from the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (van Strien et al., 1986; 2007) to participate in dot probe research. In Experiment 1, a hedonic goal was activated prior to the dot probe task that featured palatable and neutral cues. Results of 3 (Group) 3 (Prime Location) 2 (Food Palatability) analyses of variance indicated disengagement difficulties related to palatable food cues among unsuccessful restrained eaters, rapid avoidance of these cues among successful restrained eaters, and no biases in responses to palatability cues among non-restrained eaters. In Experiment 2, a restrained goal was activated subliminally following hedonic goal activation before the dot probe task. Among unsuccessful restrained eaters, disengagement difficulties and rapid avoidance of palatable food cues. In successful restrained eaters, only rapid avoidance was shown. In conclusion, results indicated that successful restrained eaters showed a tendency to avoid palatable food cues while unsuccessful restrained eaters showed a tendency to approach to palatable food cues. On this basis, researchers should consider the distinction between successful and unsuccessful restrained eating when assessing attentional biases corresponding to restrained eating.

本文分别从认知限制和去抑制进食倾向两个维度回顾了限制性饮食的ERP和脑成像研究,初步提出限制性饮食者对食物的“冷—热”加工模型,并对今后的研究提出了展望.

The effects of exposure to televised thin and average size models on body dissatisfaction and actual food intake were examined. Normal weight female students ( N = 104) were exposed to a 30-min movie clip featuring beautiful girls. Half of them viewed the movie clip in normal screen size (4:3) and the other half viewed the same movie clip in broad screen size (16:9), in which the body size of the actresses was slightly stretched breadthways. Actual food intake while watching and body dissatisfaction afterwards was examined. Additionally, restrained eating was assessed as a possible moderating variable. Two interaction effects were found between screen size and restrained eating on body dissatisfaction and actual food intake. Restrained eaters tended to feel worse and eat less in the average size condition compared to the thin model condition, whereas unrestrained eaters felt worse and ate less in the thin model condition compared to the average size condition. So, body size of televised images affected body dissatisfaction and food intake, differentially for restrained and unrestrained eaters. The screen sizes used correspond with widely used screen sizes nowadays enhancing the practical relevance of the study, since screen size might affect body dissatisfaction and food intake in daily life as well.

Health professionals recommend that individuals with overweight and obesity lose weight by reducing energy intake while maintaining a healthful diet. This study was designed to examine trends in weight loss attempts and strategies for adults with overweight or obesity among different sociodemographic groups. Data from the 1996 and 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to estimate changes in weight loss attempts and strategies across population groups. Data were analyzed in 2009. Slightly more adults with overweight or obesity attempted weight loss in 2003 compared to 1996. There were substantial changes in the diet approaches reported: rates of those using energy restriction to lose weight doubled between 1996 and 2003, whereas low-fat dieting decreased by one third. Hispanic and less-educated adults did not shift away from low-fat diets. Attempted weight loss was associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption for most population groups. Increasingly more adults with overweight or obesity tried to lose weight through energy reduction, but some at-risk groups did not follow this beneficial trend between 1996 and 2003. Dietetics practitioners and public health campaigns should target such groups with concrete recommendations to reduce energy intake while maintaining a healthful diet, including adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables.

Abstract Choice, active response, self-regulation, and other volition may all draw on a common inner resource. In Experiment 1, people who forced themselves to eat radishes instead of tempting chocolates subsequently quit faster on unsolvable puzzles than people who had not had to exert self-control over eating. In Experiment 2, making a meaningful personal choice to perform attitude-relevant behavior caused a similar decrement in persistence. In Experiment 3, suppressing emotion led to a subsequent drop in performance of solvable anagrams. In Experiment 4, an initial task requiring high self-regulation made people more passive (i.e., more prone to favor the passive-response option). These results suggest that the self's capacity for active volition is limited and that a range of seemingly different, unrelated acts share a common resource.

Abstract This study explored the relationship among obesity, depressed mood, current dieting habits, and eating. Depressed or nondepressed mood was induced in obese are nonobese dieters and nondieters. As predicted, dieters ate more when depressed than when nondepressed, and nondieters ate less when depressed than when nondepressed. That is, both groups reversed their typical eating patterns when depressed. Also as predicted, among depressed students, dieters ate more than nondieters; among nondepressed students, dieters at less than nondieters. The above pattern of results was found both for obese students and for nonobese students. Dieting habits were highlighted as a more salient variable than obesity in predicting eating responses to depressed mood. These findings are discussed with respect to the psychosomatic theory of obesity, Schachter's stimulus-binding theory of obesity, previous investigations of clinical depression, and Herman and Polivy's theory of restrained eating.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Cognitive restraint, a stable disposition to limit food intake, can be assessed by questionnaires, but there is no quantitative, objective measure of its effect. OBJECTIVE: The goal was to provide an objective measure of the intake-limiting effects of cognitive restraint by testing meal intake under conditions intended to minimize or accentuate restraint. DESIGN: Healthy women (n = 41; aged 35 +/- 9 y; body mass index, in kg/m2: 21.3 +/- 1.9) participated in once-weekly laboratory lunch tests under 4 conditions: condition 1, subjects ate alone (baseline); condition 2, subjects ate alone while listening to recorded instructions focusing on the sensory characteristics of the foods (attention); condition 3, subjects ate alone while listening to a recorded detective story (distraction); and condition 4, a group of 4 subjects had lunch together. On all occasions, the same foods were presented and ingested ad libitum. The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) was filled out after the series of 4 meals was completed. RESULTS: Meal size was significantly higher in the distraction condition than at baseline (by 301 +/- 26 kJ; P < 0.001). The difference in energy intake between the baseline and distraction conditions significantly correlated with factor 1 (cognitive restraint) of the TFEQ (r = 0.51, P < 0.01) and with total score (r = 0.32, P < 0.05) but not with disinhibition or hunger. For each additional point on factor 1, meal size increased by 50 kJ under the distraction condition compared with baseline. The group eating condition induced no increase in meal size. CONCLUSION: Cognitive restraint exerts a quantifiable limiting effect on intake at meal times and this effect can be offset by cognitive distraction.

Theory. The present study examines the processes underlying the disinhibition of the eating behaviour of restrained eaters following negative emotions. Based on Herman and Polivy's (1984) Boundary Model and Wegner's Ironic Process Theory(1994), the limited capacity hypothesis is formulated, suggesting that overeating in restrained eaters results from cognitive capacity limitations. Predictionswere that (1) impairment of cognitive capacity during eating will lead to overeating in restrained but not in unrestrained eaters and that(2) this difference should only emerge with food perceived to be high in calories.Method. The hypotheses were tested in an experiment with a 2 (restrained/unrestrained) 2 (distraction yes/no) 2 (perceived calories high/low) design, in which subjects consumed ice-cream in a taste test situation. Ice-cream consumption was the dependent variable.Results. A second-order interaction was found: as predicted, in the high calorie condition restrained eaters ate the same amount as unrestrained eaters when not distracted, but considerably more when distracted. There was also an unexpected main effect of distraction, which indicated that restrained as well as unrestrained eaters ate more if distracted than if not distracted.Discussion. The restraint distraction perceived calories interaction can be explained by both the Ironic Process Theory and the Boundary Model; and the limited capacity hypothesis appears to be confirmed. The overall main effect of distraction remains puzzling. Two speculative views for the latter effect are offered.

Restrained eaters have been found to overeat after various events or so-called disinhibitors, such as eating a preload or strong emotional states. Little research has focused onwhysuch events lead to a break of the restrained eaters' control and to overeating. The present study examines the role of cognitive distraction as a possible mechanism underlying these effects. Two experiments were conducted, both designed to test hypotheses derived from Wegner's Ironic Process Theory and focusing on the behavioural consequences of cognitive control over eating. In both experiments subjects were tested in a2(restrained/unrestrained) by2(distraction/no distraction) design. The results do not confirm the prediction flowing from the Ironic Process Theory: cognitive distraction does not lead to overeating in restrained eaters. Implications of these findings for the Boundary Model are also discussed.

We tested the effects of 3 mood inductions (neutral, positive, and negative) on food intake in 91 women of varying degrees of dietary restraint. Mood induction was accomplished by exposure to 1 of 3 film segments: a travelogue (neutral affect), a comedy film (positive affect), and a horror film (negative affect). In subjects exposed to the neutral film, food intake decreased with increasing levels of dietary restraint. Among subjects who viewed either the comedy film or the horror film, however, food intake increased with increasing restraint. Although the horror film appeared to be more disinhibiting than the comedy film, this effect may have resulted from a difference in the intensity of the emotions induced rather than from their valence. These results suggest that emotional arousal, regardless of valence, may trigger overeating among restrained eaters.

61A negative couple discussion induces negative mood change.61Mood worsening predicts greater food intake in restrained women with a high BMI.61Appetite perceptions, rather than mood, predict greater food intake in men.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that consuming high-calorie food leads to subsequent overeating by chronic dieters. The present study investigates the neural correlates of such self-regulatory failures using fMRI. Chronic dieters (n = 50) and non-dieters (n = 50) consumed either a 15-oz glass of cold water or a 15-oz milkshake and were subsequently imaged while viewing pictures of animals, environmental scenes, people, and appetizing food items. Results revealed a functional dissociation in nucleus accumbens and amygdala activity that paralleled well-established behavioral patterns of eating observed in dieters and non-dieters. Whereas non-dieters showed the greatest nucleus accumbens activity in response to food items after water consumption, dieters showed the greatest activity after consuming the milkshake. Activity in the left amygdala demonstrated the reverse interaction. Considered together with previously reported behavioral findings, the present results offer a suggested neural substrate for diet failure.

Restrained eaters (REs) characterized by less efficient response inhibition are at risk for future onset of binge eating and bulimic pathology. Previous imaging studies investigating REs have been based on task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and little is known about resting-state neural activity underlying restrained eating. To illuminate this issue, we investigated resting-state fMRI differences between REs (n=22) and unrestrained eaters (UREs) (n=30) using regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis, which measures the temporal synchronization of spontaneous fluctuations. Samples were equated on body mass index (BMI) and caloric deprivation levels (i.e., 14卤2.1h since last evening meal) before undergoing fMRI. Correlation analyses were performed between the ReHo index of identified regions and response inhibition based on stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) within each sample. Compared with UREs, REs showed more ReHo in brain regions associated with food reward (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)), attention (i.e., lingual gyrus, cuneus, inferior parietal lobule) and somatosensory functioning (i.e., paracentral lobule, anterior insula). In addition, ReHo values for the left dlPFC and left anterior insula, respectively, were negatively and positively correlated with SSRT among REs but not UREs. In concert with previous studies, these results suggest altered local synchronization may help to explain why dieting to maintain or lose weight often fails or increases risk for binge eating among REs.

In the present review, an integrated approach to craving and addiction is discussed, which is based on recent insights from psychology and neuropsychopharmacology. An integrated model explains craving and relapse in humans by the psychological mechanism of 鈥渁ttentional bias鈥 and provides neuropsychopharmacological mechanisms for this bias. According to this model, cognitive processes mediate between drug stimulus and the subject's response to this stimulus and subsequent behavioral response (e.g., drug use, relapse). According to the model, a conditioned drug stimulus produces an increase in dopamine levels in the corticostriatal circuit, in particular the anterior cingulate gyrus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens, which in turn serves to draw the subject's attention towards a perceived drug stimulus. This process results in motor preparation and a hyperattentive state towards drug-related stimuli that, ultimately, promotes further craving and relapse. Evidence for this attentional bias hypothesis is reviewed from both the psychopharmacological and the neuroanatomical viewpoints. The attentional bias hypothesis raises several suggestions for clinical approaches and further research.

Cognitive bias to food-cues and cardiac autonomic dysregulation have both been related to disordered eating behavior in previous research. The present study investigated two possible measures of self-regulatory ability in restrained eaters: resistance to distractor interference and vagal-cardiac control. Young women (N=47) performed a flanker task involving high caloric food-cues or neutral pictures. Vagal-cardiac activity was calculated from baseline heart rate recordings at rest. Restrained eaters did not differ from unrestrained eaters in resistance to distractor interference. However, restrained eaters showed shorter reaction times to high-calorie food-cues as compared to neutral pictures than unrestrained eaters. This attentional bias was further related to low dieting success. Moreover, restrained eating was associated with low parasympathetic activation and sympathovagal imbalance, independent of current body mass. Both attentional bias and cardiac autonomic dysregulation were related to self-reported weight fluctuations. Results are discussed in terms of possible adverse consequences of weight cycling in young women and low self-regulatory ability in restrained eaters.

Trait sensitivity to rewards may predict risk of unhealthy behaviours, including overeating, binge eating and obesity. We investigated associations between weight maintenance in young women, and measures of reward sensitivity, both general and food-related, and of response bias. We hypothesised that successful weight maintenance would be associated with lower reward sensitivity, less responsiveness to food reward and less positive response bias. Sixty-four non-obese (mean BMI = 22.5) women, aged 18–35 years, took part in a survey of dieting and weight history as well as completing questionnaires on eating behaviour (TFEQ-R18 v2; Power of Food Scale (PFS); Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ)) and reward/punishment sensitivity (SPSRQ). They also completed a computer-based trial-and-error learning task that generates a response bias coefficient (RBC) indicating the extent to which participants are biased towards positive reinforcement (A. McNamara, University of Surrey). From the survey on dieting and weight history, 10 items were selected to form a ‘successful weight maintenance’ scale, after standardising scores for each item. Associations between this measure and the others were examined by Spearman’s correlations. Successful weight maintenance was negatively correlated with BMI (ρ=610.64), reward sensitivity (ρ=610.48) (not to punishment), RBC (ρ=610.28), all 3 PFS subscales (ρ=610.40 to ρ=610.50), all trait subscales of the FCQ except ‘anticipation’ (positive and negative) and ‘negative affect’: similarly, restrained and uncontrolled eating were negatively related (ρ=610.47 and 610.52, respectively), but not emotional eating. In young women, successful weight maintenance may depend on resistance to positive reinforcement.

ABSTRACT In this article we examine alleged conceptual and psychometric deficiencies of the Restraint Scale, an instrument intended to identify chronic dieters. These deficiencies include the confounding of restraint with disinhibition, the inapplicability of the scale to obese samples, problems with the factor structure of the scale, and difficulties in completing the scale. We argue that these alleged deficiencies are in most cases chimerical and that the Restraint Scale remains the most useful tool for examining behavioral and other dieter/nondieter differences. Proposed alternatives to the Restraint Scale are examined and found to be inadequate as replacements, although they may be useful for certain purposes. Closer attention to the intended purpose of such instruments may serve to dispel controversy and confusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

This article reviews the literature on behavioral inhibition and suggests that repeated attempts to inhibit motivations to act (such as emotion, hunger, thirst, sexual arousal, and drug cravings) involve conflict and have cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences, many of which are negative. People often have difficulty ignoring motivational guides to behavior, and this often results in emotional distress and maladaptive behavior. Such suppression might produce health problems, negative affect, cognitive disruption, and eventual behavioral excess. These reactions occur whether the inhibited activity involves failure to express emotion, repressive responses to stress, or avoidance of internally motivated activities, such as eating or drinking. Although the exact mechanism underlying these effects is not yet clear, the similarities across behaviors are provocative. Whereas the benefits of suppressing some behaviors that are themselves unhealthy or otherwise costly (such as smoking) might well outweigh the negative effects of attempted inhibition, it appears to be important for the individual to be aware that these costs exist. Without such acknowledgment, society's proscriptions on expressing such motivated behaviors might exacerbate rather than eliminate a multitude of problems.

Eating in competition with other tasks has been shown to increase food intake, particularly when tasks are cognitively demanding. To test the hypothesis that social facilitation of eating occurs, in part, as a function of distraction which impairs the ability to self-monitor, eating with others was compared with eating alone or in front of the television. Using a repeated measure within-subjects design, thirty-seven participants (21 males) visited the laboratory 4 times to eat a buffet-style lunch ad libitum. All eating episodes were filmed. Energy intake (EI) was measured when participants ate alone (A), ate alone while watching TV (B), ate with two same sex strangers (C), and ate with two same sex friends (D) in a counterbalanced order. EI was significantly enhanced by presence of familiar others (D: 4565 ± 27202kJ, p < 0.001) and watching TV (B: 4350 ± 25202kJ, p < 0.05) compared to baseline (A: 3861 ± 20002kJ). Length of eating episode correlated significantly ( p < 0.05) with EI, however, amount of time spent eating and looking at food differed by condition with a greater percentage of time focussed on food during baseline ( p < 0.001). Eating with friends increased EI by 18% and eating in front of the TV increased EI by 14% relative to baseline. Engaging in conversation or watching TV draws attention away from the eaten food and can stimulate food intake. However, since eating with strangers also drew attention away from food but did not result in increased intake, social facilitation effects are not simply due to distraction. Thus food intake can be enhanced when attention to food and self-monitoring are impaired during distraction, however, this effect is moderated when eating with strangers.

First page of article

The study aimed to investigate attentional bias for food cues among restrained eaters. In particular, the roles of speeded detection (enhanced orientation of attention toward food stimuli) and slowed disengagement (trouble disengaging attention from food stimuli) were examined. Participants were 78 female undergraduate students aged 18 25 years, classified as restrained ( N = 38) or unrestrained eaters ( N = 40). Attentional bias was assessed by a visual search task which required participants to locate the position of an odd-one-out target word in a matrix of 19 distractor words. Restrained eaters were disproportionately faster than unrestrained eaters to detect a food word within a neutral matrix compared to a neutral word within a neutral distractor matrix. Restrained eaters were also disproportionately faster, rather than slower, than unrestrained eaters to detect a neutral word within a food matrix compared to a neutral word within a neutral distractor matrix. Thus restrained eaters show a heightened vigilance for food cues, but no slower disengagement from such cues.

Objective The literature on dieting has sparked several debates over how restrained eaters differ from unrestrained eaters in their self-regulation of healthy and unhealthy food desires and what distinguishes successful from unsuccessful dieters. We addressed these debates using a four-component model of self-control that was tested using ecological momentary assessment, long-term weight change, and a laboratory measure of inhibitory control. Design A large sample of adults varying in dietary restraint and inhibitory control (as measured by a Stroop task) were equipped with smartphones for a week. They were beeped on random occasions and provided information on their experience and control of healthy and unhealthy food desires in everyday environments. Main outcome measures The main outcome measures were desire strength, experienced conflict, resistance, enactment of desire, and weight change after a 4-month follow-up. Results and conclusions Dietary restraint was unrelated to desire frequency and strength, but associated with higher conflict experiences and motivation to use self-control with regard to food desires. Most importantly, relationships between dietary restraint and resistance, enactment of desire, and long-term weight change were moderated by inhibitory control: Compared with dieters low in response inhibition, dieters high in response inhibition were more likely to attempt to resist food desires, not consume desired food (especially unhealthy food), and objectively lost more weight over the ensuing 4 months. These results highlight the combinatory effects of aspects of the self-control process in dieters and highlight the value in linking theoretical process frameworks, experience sampling, and laboratory-based assessment in health science. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? 61Dieting is a multifaceted process that can be viewed from the lens of self-control. Dietary restraint measures can be used to capture dieting status, but it is relatively unclear what differentiates successful from unsuccessful dieters (e.g., differences in desire frequency, desire strength, motivation, executive functions). What does this study add? 61A novel four-step conceptual model of self-control is applied to eating behaviour in everyday life. This model allows a fine-grained look at the self-control process in restrained eaters (dieters) as compared to non-dieters. 61Dieters and non-dieters do not differ in desire frequency and strength (they are not simply more tempted). 61Dieters high (as compared to low) in inhibitory control are more likely to engage in self-control. 61Dieters high (as compared to low) in inhibitory control are more likely to resist unhealthy food desires. 61Dieters high (as compared to low) in inhibitory control are more likely to loose weight over a 4-month period. 61Together, the study shows clear differences among successful and unsuccessful dieters that can be linked to differences in executive functioning (inhibitory control). 61The present article is one of the first studies combining a conceptual model with smartphone experience sampling to study weight control and thus paradigmatic from a methodological perspective.

Linking contemporary models of self-regulation to recent research on automatic attitudes, the present study investigated the impact of automatic candy attitudes, dietary restraint standards, and self-regulation resources on eating behavior. Participants were assigned to either an emotion suppression task (low self-regulation resources) or an emotion flow task (high self-regulation resources), and were then given an opportunity to taste candies. When self-regulation resources were high, candy consumption was uniquely related to dietary restraint standards (but not automatic candy attitudes). In contrast, when self-regulation resources were low, candy consumption was primarily predicted by automatic candy attitudes, with dietary restraint standards showing a tendency for counterintentional effects. These results indicate that the behavioral impact of automatic attitudes and personal standards depends on available control resources. Implications for research on automatic attitudes and self-regulation are discussed.

Recent work shows that the inability to inhibit basic motor responses (like pressing a button) is related to overeating, weight gain and overweight. In the present study it was tested whether this inability to inhibit motor responses &#x2013; or impulsivity &#x2013; can differentiate between successful and unsuccessful restrained eaters. A typical preload and food exposure paradigm was used and it was hypothesized that only the high-restrained eaters that are simultaneously inefficient inhibitors of prepotent motor responses would overeat when confronted with tempting foods. In line with the hypothesis, the data show that overeating follows from an interaction between restraint and impulsivity; high-restrained eaters only overate when they were also impulsive. It is concluded that being restrained per se is not a determinant of overeating. Being a restrained eater only bears the risk of overeating in case of coexisting impulsivity.

61Attentional biases for food cues may link food cue exposure and consumption.61Female participants were trained to attend to healthy or unhealthy food cues.61Attentional re-training induced an attentional bias towards healthy food cues.61Increased attentional bias for healthy food was associated with healthy snack intake.61Results suggest a theoretical link between biased attentional processing and consumption.

In a random sample (N=1078) from the general population, this study examined whether individual differences in dispositional self-control can explain restrained eaters success in controlling their weight. A regression analysis with body mass index (BMI) as dependent variable revealed a significant negative association between dispositional self-control and BMI, and a significant positive association between dietary restraint and BMI. These effects were qualified by a significant interaction between restraint and self-control. Among restrained eaters, the association between self-control and BMI was significantly more negative than among normal eaters. Furthermore, among female restrained eaters higher dispositional self-control scores were associated with BMIs within the normal-weight range (BMI<25) and lower dispositional self-control scores were associated with BMIs within the overweight range (BMI>25). Among male restrained eaters very high scores on dispositional self-control were associated with BMIs within the normal-weight range, whereas medium or low scores on self-control were associated with BMIs within the overweight range. Results suggest that high dispositional self-control facilitates successful restrained eating.

Abstract There is emerging evidence that attentional biases are related to the consumption of substances such as alcohol and tobacco, and that attentional bias modification can reduce unwanted consumption of these substances. We present evidence for the first time to our knowledge that the same logical argument applies in the food and eating domain. We conducted two experiments that used a modified dot probe paradigm to train undergraduate women to direct their attention toward ("attend") or away from ("avoid") food cues (i.e., pictures of chocolate). In Experiment 1, attentional bias for chocolate cues increased in the "attend" group, and decreased in the "avoid" group. Experiment 2 showed that these training effects generalized to novel, previously unseen chocolate pictures. Importantly, attentional retraining affected chocolate consumption and craving. In both experiments, participants in the "avoid" group ate less chocolate in a so-called taste test than did those in the "attend" group. In addition, in Experiment 2, but not in Experiment 1, the "attend" group reported stronger chocolate cravings following training, whereas the "avoid" group reported less intense cravings. The results support predictions of cognitive-motivational models of craving and consumption that attentional biases play a causal role in consumption behavior. Furthermore, they present a promising avenue for tackling unwanted food cravings and (over)eating. 2013 American Psychological Association

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have presented mixed findings on the inhibition ability in restrained eaters (REs) due to the limited amount of neural evidence and limitations of behavioral measures. The current study explores the neural correlations of the specific inhibition ability among successful restrained eaters (S-REs), unsuccessful restrained eaters (US-REs), and unrestrained eaters (UREs). METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Three groups of females (with 13 participants in each group) completed a two-choice Oddball task, while the event-related potentials (ERPs) are recorded synchronously. Results indicate that S-REs showed inhibition deficit in processing high-energy food cues whereas US-REs show inhibition deficit in processing both low- and high-energy food cues. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that S-REs and US-REs differ in terms of specific inhibition ability and that enhanced inhibition is essential to a successful diet.

To be a successful dieter, one has to be able to consistently resist immediate temptations in order to achieve the bigger, but delayed rewards of weight loss, increased attractiveness and better health. These long-term benefits are by no means guaranteed as the delayed rewards are more uncertain than the immediate rewards. Several researchers have suggested that the population of restrained eaters consists of two populations: unsuccessful dieters who score high on restraint and high on disinhibition, and successful dieters who score high on restraint but low on disinhibition. The present study examines to what extent restrained eating in combination with individual differences in self-control (akin to low disinhibition) is related to successful decision making on a task that mimics the uncertainty of dieting (measured with the Iowa Gambling Task). As expected, self-control moderated the association between restraint and decision making: restrained eating was related to worse decision making when self-control was low, but to better decision making when self-control was high. This suggest that those high in restraint and high in self-control may be more successful in their dieting attempts because they are generally better at inhibiting short-term rewards in order to gain better long-term outcomes.

Abstract The effects of viewing media-portrayed idealized body images on eating, self-esteem, body image, and mood among restrained and unrestrained eaters were examined. Study 1 found that restrained eaters (i.e., dieters), but not unrestrained eaters, rated both their ideal and current body sizes as smaller and disinhibited their food intake following exposure to idealized body images. These results suggest that restrained eaters are susceptible to a “thin fantasy” brought about by viewing ideal body images. Study 2 found that strengthening thinness attainability beliefs can further enhance the thin fantasy demonstrated by restrained eaters following exposure to idealized body images. Study 3 examined whether demand characteristics moderate these effects of media-portrayed idealized body images. As predicted, when explicit demand characteristics were present, participants reported feeling worse following exposure to thin models. The complexities of the media’s role in the development and maintenance of body dissatisfaction and dieting behavior are discussed.

To assess the impact of distraction on subsequent eating, 60 females consumed a cereal bar while watching TV, walking or talking, and their subsequent desire to eat and food intake were assessed. No effects were found for desire to eat. But while those higher in restrained eating consumed less overall and fewer calories after watching TV or talking, they consumed more overall and more calories (specifically five times more ) if the cereal bar was eaten while walking. 'Eating on the go' may disinhibit restrained eaters either as a form of distraction or by offering a justification to overeat.

Restrained eaters have repeatedly been found to overeat following a preload, which phenomenon is called the disinhibition effect. Remarkably, the disinhibition effect is only found when the restraint scale (RS) is used, and never when other measures of restraint, like the three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ) or the Dutch eating behavior questionnaire (DEBQ) are applied. Recent research has shown that tendency toward overeating appears to be a better predictor of food consumption than dietary restraint. The present study examines the predictive value of preload, tendency toward overeating and dietary restraint. An experiment was carried out with 209 female participants with the aim to evaluate whether the results of the study [Int J Eating Disorders 28 (2000) 333] are robust. In addition to the RS, the TFEQ and DEBQ were used to measure restraint and tendency toward overeating. Again, no disinhibition effect occurred, confirming the results of the previous study. Restraint, as measured by the three questionnaires, was not related to food consumption. In contrast, tendency toward overeating was significantly related to food consumption. Restraint theory's contentions that dieting leads to overeating might be valid for only some dieters, namely those with a high tendency toward overeating.

There is experimental evidence to suggest that attentional bias to food stimuli may predict food intake. The process model of ego-depletion (Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2012) proposes that after self-control exertion, attention shifts toward rewarding objects such as palatable food, which in turn should prompt greater food consumption as an indicator of lower self-control. In the current study, 84 female restrained and unrestrained eaters engaged in a self-control or neutral task, followed by a measure of attentional bias and an eating task. Results indicated there were no differences in attentional bias or amount eaten between self-control conditions and dietary restraint groups. However, a moderated regression showed that attentional bias toward food or self-control images predicted eating behavior only in participants who previously exerted self-control, while no effect was found for participants in the neutral condition. These results suggest that attentional bias may predict food intake, but only for individuals who have previously exerted self-control.

Abstract The mediating influence of self-esteem on disinhibited eating was assessed in restrained and unrestrained subjects. Self-esteem was unrelated to the eating behavior of unrestrained subjects following a preload, but did moderate the disinhibitory effects of a preload on restrained subjects. Specifically, only those restrained subjects with low self-esteem displayed disinhibited eating after a preload. Theoretical and practical implications of this finding were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Background Sixty percent of eating disorders do not meet criteria for anorexia- or bulimia nervosa, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version 4 (DSM-IV). Instead they are diagnosed as ???eating disorders not otherwise specified??? (EDNOS). Discrepancies between criteria and clinical reality currently hampering eating disorder diagnoses in the DSM-IV will be addressed by the forthcoming DSM-V. However, future diagnoses for eating disorders will rely on current advances in the fields of neuroimaging and genetics for classification of symptoms that will ultimately improve treatment. Discussion Here we debate the classification issues, and discuss how brain imaging and genetic discoveries might be interwoven into a model of eating disorders to provide better classification and treatment. The debate concerns: a) current issues in the classification of eating disorders in the DSM-IV, b) changes proposed for DSM-V, c) neuroimaging eating disorder research and d) genetic eating disorder research. Summary We outline a novel evidence-based ???impulse control??? spectrum model of eating disorders. A model of eating disorders is proposed that will aid future diagnosis of symptoms, coinciding with contemporary suggestions by clinicians and the proposed changes due to be published in the DSM-V.

Abstract We tested the effects of film-induced negative affect (i.e., exposure to a frightening film) in 60 women classified as either restrained or unrestrained eaters on the basis of their responses to the Revised Restraint Scale (Herman & Polivy, 1980). Exposure to the frightening film, in contrast to a neutral film, was associated with increases in anxiety, sadness, and anger. High restraint subjects exposed to the frightening film ate more than did equally restrained subjects exposed to a neutral film or low restraint subjects exposed to either film. Thus, negative affect triggered overeating among restrained eaters. Although unrestrained eaters exposed to the frightening film ate less than those who viewed the neutral film, this difference was not statistically significant. These results suggest that negative affect may prompt overeating in persons who attempt to restrict their caloric intake.

We investigated the association of restrained eating with BMI and weight gain while controlling for the influence of genes and shared environment. Participants were 1,587 twins enrolled in the University of Washington Twin Registry (UWTR). Restrained eating was assessed by the Herman and Polivy Restraint Scale. Height and weight were self-reported on two occasions. Analyses used generalized estimating equations or multiple linear regression techniques. Restraint Scale scores were positively associated with both BMI (adjusted β = 0.39 kg/m2; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.34–0.44; P < 0.001) and weight gain (adjusted β = 0.33 pounds; 95% CI = 0.17–0.49; P < 0.001). High Restraint Scale scorers had an adjusted mean BMI of 27.9 kg/m2 (95% CI = 27.4–28.4) as compared to intermediate (mean = 25.5 kg/m2; 95% CI = 25.2–25.8) and low scorers (mean = 23.0 kg/m2; 95% CI = 22.7–23.3). In within-pair analyses among 598 same-sex twin pairs, the adjusted association between Restraint Scale scores and BMI persisted even when genetic and shared environmental factors were controlled for (adjusted β = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.12–0.24; P < 0.001), as did the association with weight gain (adjusted β = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.13–0.61; P = 0.003). In stratified analyses, dizygotic (DZ) twins differed more in BMI for a given difference in the Restraint Scale score than monozygotic (MZ) twins, for whom genetics are 100% controlled (adjusted β = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.20–0.44 vs. adjusted β = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.04–0.16; P = 0.001 for test of interaction). These data demonstrate that observed relationships between BMI, weight gain, and restrained eating, as assessed by the Restraint Scale, have a strong environmental influence and are not solely due to shared genetic factors.

This research tested the hypothesis that initial efforts at executive control temporarily undermine subsequent efforts at executive control. Four experiments revealed that controlling the focus of visual attention (Experiment 1), inhibiting predominant writing tendencies (Experiment 2), taking a working memory test (Experiment 3), or exaggerating emotional expressions (Experiment 4) undermined performance on subsequent tests of working memory span, reverse digit span, and response inhibition, respectively. The results supported a limited resource model of executive control and cast doubt on competing accounts based on mood, motivation, or task difficulty. Prior efforts at executive control are a significant contextual determinant of the operation of executive processes.

This report describes the construction of a questionnaire to measure three dimensions of human eating behavior. The first step was a collation of items from two existing questionnaires that measure the related concepts of ‘restrained eating’ and ‘latent obesity’, to which were added items newly written to elucidate these concepts. This version was administered to several populations selected to include persons who exhibited the spectrum from extreme dietary restraint to extreme lack of restrain. The resulting responses were factor analyzed and the resulting factor structure was used to revise the questionnaire. This process was then repeated: administration of the revised questionnaire to groups representing extremes of dietary restraint, factor analysis of the results and questionnaire revision. Three stable factors emerged: (1) ‘cognitive restraint of eating’, (2) ‘disinhibition’ and (3) ‘hunger’. The new 51-item questionnaire measuring these factors is presented.

Although restrained eating is believed to increase overeating and weight in the long term, the opposite has also been found: Heavy individuals are more likely to diet. The objective of the current study was to test both pathways for adolescents.A longitudinal model was used to explore the bidirectional associations between restrained eating and body mass index (BMI).At 3 annual waves, restrained eating and BMI were obtained from both older (M age 15.2 years old) and younger (M age 13.4 years old) adolescent boys and girls who were sibling pairs in 404 Dutch families.Structural equation modeling showed that BMI predicted restrained eating more consistently than the other way round. The results remained the same when analyzed by sex, age, socioeconomic status, and overeating tendency. Thus, in our general survey of adolescents restrained eating did not seem to be a successful weight loss strategy, nor did it consistently predict weight increase.Positive associations between restrained eating and BMI should mainly be interpreted in the sense that higher BMI predicted more restrained eating.

A new theory of eating regulation is presented to account for the over-responsiveness of restrained eaters to external food-relevant cues. According to this theory, the food intake of restrained eaters is characterized by a conflict between two chronically accessible incentives or goals: eating enjoyment and weight control. Their difficulty in weight control is due to their behavioral sensitivity to eating enjoyment and its incompatibility with the eating control goal. Accordingly, exposure to food-relevant stimuli primes the goal of eating enjoyment in restrained (but not unrestrained) eaters, resulting in an inhibition of weight control thoughts. Three studies are reported that support these assumptions. Study 1 demonstrates a substantial relation between Eating Restraint and measures of ambivalence towards eating. Studies 2 and 3 show that priming eating enjoyment decreases the accessibility of eating control concepts. The results are discussed in the context of current research on the psychology of obesity and restrained eating.

http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00360.x

Previous work has shown that acts of self-regulation appear to deplete a psychological resource, resulting in poorer self-regulation subsequently. Four experiments using assorted manipulations and measures found that positive mood or emotion can counteract ego depletion. After an initial act of self-regulation, participants who watched a comedy video or received a surprise gift self-regulated on various tasks as well as non-depleted participants and significantly better than participants who experienced a sad mood induction, a neutral mood stimulus, or a brief rest period.

Despite their intentions, weight-concerned individuals generally fail to control their eating behavior. However, it is unknown whether this failure is due to a lack of effortful self-control, or to not experiencing an internal conflict between weight goals and food temptations. The present study used fMRI, eye tracking and reaction times to assess the degree of conflict experienced by weight-concerned women during food choices that posed either a self-control dilemma (i.e., requiring a choice between healthy and palatable foods), or not. Contrary to the common assumption in self-control theory that food choices posing a self-control dilemma evoke internal conflict, we found that choices requiring self-control induced no conflict, as demonstrated by lower reaction times, fixation durations, number of gaze switches between snacks, and lower activation of the anterior cingulate cortex. Self-control failure might be due to a lack of experienced conflict, rather than to failing to act upon the perception of such conflict. This implies that effectiveness of weight maintenance interventions might be improved if they also focus on increasing the ability to detect a self-control dilemma, in addition to the current focus on increasing self-regulatory capacity.

Restrained eaters do not eat less than their unrestrained counterparts. Proposed underlying mechanisms are that restrained eaters are more reward sensitive and that they have worse inhibitory control. Although fMRI studies assessed these mechanisms, it is unknown how brain anatomy relates to dietary restraint. Voxel-based morphometry was performed on anatomical scans from 155 normal-weight females to investigate how regional grey matter volume correlates with restraint. A positive correlation was found in several areas, including the parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, striatum and the amygdala (bilaterally, p<0.05, corrected). A negative correlation was found in several areas, including the inferior frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, middle cingulate cortex and precentral gyrus (p<0.05, corrected). That higher restraint relates to higher grey matter volume in reward-related areas and lower grey matter volume in regions involved in inhibition, provides a neuroanatomical underpinning of theories relating restraint to increased reward sensitivity and reduced inhibitory capacity.

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.

It has been experimentally shown that the population of high restrained eaters consists of two subpopulations, i.e., those with a low and those with a high susceptibility toward failure of restraint. Only those who combined high restraint with high scores on the disinhibition scale of the TFEQ (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) showed overeating after a preload. The aim of the present study was to assess the concurrent validity of a two-factorial classification using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) scales for restraint, emotional and external eating, as well as the bulimia scale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) for locating dieters with low or high susceptibility toward failure. It was examined whether the resulting two-group classification is associated with self-reported behaviors and features of psychopathology, which are generally thought to differentiate both groups of dieters. The results indicated that the two-group classification was indeed associated with many of these behaviors and features of psychopathology, It was concluded that this classification has a good concurrent validity. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Three studies were conducted to test the behavioral consequences of effortful self-regulation. Individuals with chronic inhibitions about eating were exposed to situations varying in level of self-regulatory demand. Subsequently, participants' ability to self-regulate was measured. Two studies manipulated self-regulatory demand by exposing participants to good-tasting snack foods, whereas a third study required participants to control their emotional expressions. As hypothesized, exerting self-control during the first task led to decrements in self-control on a subsequent task. Moreover, these effects were not due to changes in affective state and occurred only when self-control was required in the first task. These findings are explained in terms of depletion of self-regulatory resources, which impairs successful volitional control.

61The effect of a manipulation of attention bias for food on intake was tested.61An anti-saccade task was applied as attention bias modification task.61Eye-tracking was used to monitor accuracy during the modification.61The impact of the attention modification on food intake was moderated by accuracy.61Results provide evidence for a link between attention for food and food intake.

According to theoretical models biased attention for food cues is related to craving and food (over)consumption. In three studies we assessed attention biases towards food cues by eye-movement recordings. Results indicated that overweight/obese individuals show a distinctive pattern of attentional bias for food that was associated with craving: Overweight participants directed their first gaze more often towards food pictures than healthy weight individuals, but subsequently showed reduced maintenance of attention on these pictures. The initial orientation bias towards food was positively correlated with food intake for overweight participants (study 1). Restrained and unrestrained eaters with a healthy weight did not differ in their attention allocation towards food. Instead, all participants showed an attentional bias for food (study 2). Manipulation of the expectancy to consume chocolate did not influence chocolate cravers attention bias towards chocolate cues or chocolate intake (study 3). After a craving induction, chocolate cravers showed an attention bias for chocolate cues and consumed more chocolate irrespective of the expected availability of chocolate. These results indicate that attention biases towards food are related to craving and are potentially associated with overweight and excessive food consumption.

The present study explored the phenomenon of counterregulatory eating in chronic dieters by manipulating taste and caloric-information cues of a preload and taste of subsequent ad lib food. The results replicated the “restraint breaking” phenomenon reported by Herman and Mack (1975) and supported the hypothesis that this behavioral pattern is cognitively mediated. In addition, sensitivity to taste was found in restrained subjects when their chronic restraints were bypassed. These results were related to previous eating research, and their implications for self-control and dieting were examined.

The current study tests the influence of two factors, the obesogenic environment and impulsivity, on food intake in primary school children. Our current food environment offers a large variety of cheap and easily available sweet and fatty foods. This obesogenic environment is believed to be a cause of the recent obesity epidemic. Impulsive people are generally less successful at inhibiting... [Show full abstract]