Explanations for the Success + Failure of Dieting Flashcards
% of UK female pop that has consciously restrained their intake of food at some point
89%
The boundary model
Herman + Polivy
Hunger keeps intake of food above a certain minimum + satiety works to keep intake below some maximum level
Explain the boundary model
Dieters tend to have a larger range between hunger + satiety levels as it takes them longer to feel hungry + more food to satisfy them
Restrained eaters have a self-imposed desired intake. Once they have gone over this boundary they continue to eat til satiety
White bear
Wegener et al
Asked p’s not to think about a WB but to ring bell if they did + other to think about WB
Results: Those told not to think about WB rang their bells more often
Attempting to suppress or deny a thought frequently has the opposite effect = making it more prominant
Theory of ironic processes of mental control
As dieters try to suppress thoughts about foods deemed to be forbidden as part of diet = increases dieters’ preoccupation with the very foods they are trying to deny
Food denied = more attractive
Detail
Redden = secret of successful dieting lies in the attention we pay to what is being eaten
People usually like experiences less as they repeat them = makes it harder to stick to a particular regime
We should focus on details of meal = people get bored less easily + better able to maintain their diet
Jelly Beans
Redden gave P’s 22 jelly beans each, on at a time
As each bean dispensed = info shown on comp
Group 1: saw bean number 1,2 etc
Group 2: saw specific flavor details
Group 1 got bored with fasting beans faster
Group 2: enjoyed task more
Obesity treatment
Restraint = excess
However the treatment for obesity is restraint
Failed attempts to diet can leave obese indis depressed + unable to control weight
Overeating may be a consequence of obesity if restrain is treatment
Limited relevance
Ogden
Doesn’t explain behaviour of restricting anorexics using restraint theory
If trying not to eat = overeating, the how do anorexics manage to starve themselves?
Theory of Ironic Processes Support
P’s divided into restrained + unrestrained eaters
Restrained group used more thought suppression than other = showed rebound effect
Shows restrained eaters who tend to overeat try to suppress thoughts about foods more often, but when they do, think more about foods afterwards
TIP limited experimental effects
Wegner admits ironic effects observed in research are detectable but far from overwhelming
Such effects may underlie more serious pathological forms of eating behaviour, their influence could be considered overwhelming in terms of everyday human cost
Anti-dieting programmes
Concerns of ineffectiveness + damaging effects of may diet programmes = led to development of healthy eating programmes
= emphasise regulation by body hunger + satiety signals + prevention of inappropriate attitudes to food
META = Programmes associated with improvements in both eating behaviour + psychological wellbeing + weight stability
Cultural Bias in Obesity Research
Some cultures find it harder to diet successfully because of natural inclination to obesity
Asian adults are more prone to obesity than Europeans
Asian children + adolescents have a greater central fat mass when compared with Europeans + other ethnic groups
Does dieting make you dumb?
Compared to the non-dieting women, those on low-calorie diets processed this info more slowly + took longer to react
Preoccupation with body shape, food restriction + dieting experience typical of a ‘crash diet’ may overload the dieter’s mental capacity
Wardle + Beales
Assigned obese women to either diet group, exercise group or non treatment group
Weeks 4 + 6 = P’s assessed in Lab conditions
Weeks 4: food intake + appetite were assessed before + after preload (milkshake or chocolate)
Week 6: food intake assessed under stressed conditions
In both conditions women in diet condition are more than women in exercise + non-treatment group
