dieting, restraint and disinhibition - virtual tutorial 3 Flashcards
study in question
Ouwens, M. A., van Strien, T., & van der Staak, C. P. (2003). Tendency toward overeating and restraint as predictors of food consumption. Appetite, 40(3), 291-298.
- What was the primary aim of the study?
a. evaluate whether the results of the study [Int J Eating Disorders 28 (2000) 333] are robust
b. replicate the findings of van Strien et al. (2000).
- What are the key differences between the psychosomatic, externality and restraint theories of individual differences in food consumption?
a. Psychosomatic theory focuses on emotional overeating. Low interoceptive awareness (difficulty distinguishing between sensations and feelings, hunger and satiety = sensation produced by need for food vs uncomfortable feelings/emotions).
b. Externality theory focuses on phenomenon of externally induced eating like sight and smell and eat regardless of internal state of hunger. High responsivity to food cues.
c. Restraint theory emphasises dieting, stating that eating behaviour is affected by a balance of forces like the physiological pressures and resistance to these pressures. Self-imposed energy restriction.
- What are the circumstances under which restrained eaters overeat?
a. imposed food consumption (preload), the induction of dysphoric mood, or the conscious consumption of alcohol
- Why were multiple measures of restraint administered?
a. these scales select different kinds of dieters
b. To assess predictive value of each, as they measure different aspects of restriction. Restraint scales of TFEQ and DEBQ measure intention to restrict and actual restriction thus do not always predict disinhibition. RS measures not only preoccupation with dieting, but also weight fluctuation and aspects of overeating, so selects those with high tendency to disinhibition. TFEQ and DEBQ can measure restraint and disinhibition separately, but in different ways.
- Why were cookies offered, rather than the usual food, ice-cream?
a. To compare to the original study which used ice cream
b. Do similar results occur?
- What were the criteria for participation in the study?
a. Females
b. Included agreement to comply with the instruction that there should be at least 2 hours between their last meal and arrival for the study.
- What were the 3 main questions of the study?
a. does the disinhibition effect occur when a larger milkshake preload (400 ml instead of 200 ml) is used?
b. is the finding that tendency toward overeating is a better predictor of consumption than restraint indeed robust?
c. will we find a similar effect when the taste test includes cookies rather than ice cream?
- Why were scores on the DEBQ emotional and external eating and the bulimia scale of the EDI-2 combined for analysis?
a. They were all sig. positively correlated, so this method could provide a score for tendency towards overeating.
- Which was the best predictor of intake: restraint or tendency towards overeating?
a. tendency toward overeating proved to be a better predictor of food consumption than restraint
- What were the main conclusions?
a. Most outcomes of the study of Van Strien et al., 2000 were replicated
- What questions remain to be answered?
a. Further research needs to unravel the role of restraint and tendency toward overeating in the explanation of the disinhibition effect. How does use of questionnaire (i.e. what is actually measuring?) effect findings? How does restraint theory account for disinhibition without restraint?
