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Forbidden fruit: Does thinking about a prohibited food lead to its consumption?
International Journal of Eating Disorders
Abstract
The phenomenon of overeating the very foods that one is trying to resist is potentially consistent with both an ironic process account of overeating and a reactance account of the desire for "forbidden fruit." These two models are tested.
Participants in two studies were prohibited or not prohibited from eating a food, or they were encouraged to "choose" to avoid it. Food consumption, thoughts, and desire were assessed before and after the food was forbidden.
Consistent with an ironic process account, participants' thoughts about the food increased, regardless of whether they were required to or chose to avoid it. Consistent with a reactance account, participants' desire for the food increased if they were required to avoid it, but not if they chose to avoid it. Participants did not, however, ultimately overeat the forbidden food.
Neither increased thoughts nor enhanced desire for a food necessarily leads to overindulgence.
... In prior related research [43], participants who were forbidden from consuming a certain food exhibited a relative increase in desire for the food, a result consistent with a reactancedriven motive to reassert freedom [21]. By contrast, participants who were instructed to avoid the food but assured by the experimenter that if they needed to eat it, they should "feel free" to do so, did not show the same reactance-based desire for the forbidden food. ...
... In the standard suppression condition (control condition), they were instructed to "Please try not to think of a white bear." In the experimental condition (free choice condition), they were instructed to "Please try not to think of a white bear, but of course if you need to, feel free" (in addition to the results of a prior relevant investigation [43], the reactance-lowering effect of this latter instruction was confirmed through ratings detailed below). After engaging in the suppression task for several minutes, all participants were then asked to complete the following dependent measure: "While you were doing the task, to what extent did thoughts of a white bear consume your attention?" ...
... Given these past studies, it is perhaps surprising that no previous attempt has been made to explicitly manipulate, rather than measure, reactance and observe the consequences for thought suppression, as was done here. The results of this investigation suggest for the very first time that direct alteration of reactance pressures can impact thought suppression success, just as a previous study found that food desires could be influenced through a similar reactance manipulation [43]. ...
Individuals fail to suppress certain thoughts, especially under conditions that tax cognitive resources. We investigated the impact of modifying psychological reactance pressures on thought suppression attempts. Participants were asked to suppress thoughts of a target item under standard experimental conditions or under conditions designed to lower reactance pressures. In the presence of high cognitive load, weakening associated reactance pressures resulted in greater success at suppression. The results suggest that reducing relevant motivational pressures can facilitate thought suppression, even when an individual experiences cognitive limitation.
... Several studies have shown that deprivation induces cravings: In one study, individuals who did not allow themselves to eat a particular food (e.g., cereal, bagels, and pasta) for 5 days reported significant increases in desire for the corresponding food (Mann & Ward, 2001). In another, both low and high trait-level chocolate cravers had increased state-level chocolate cravings after deprivation (Moreno, Rodríguez, Martín, & Warren, 2012). ...
... Given the various findings on the effects of deprivation on food cravings produced by the studies cited above, it is difficult to predict what effect the deprivation of rice would have on a general population. As in the case of popular carbohydrate-based foods (Mann & Ward, 2001), the deprivation of rice may lead to cravings for rice itself, if it results in any cravings all. Alternatively, the craving effects could extend to carbohydrates in general as in the study on carbohydrate restriction by Coelho et al. (2006). ...
... Previous studies have differed in their methodology regarding the deprivation period: First, Coelho et al. (2006) examined the effects of a three-day restriction of foods high in carbohydrates or high in protein on cravings and found that restriction of carbohydrates caused cravings for corresponding foods. Second, deprivation of neutrally liked food (rated at the neutral midpoint of a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 7) for five days caused cravings (Mann & Ward, 2001). Third, a one-week deprivation of chocolate caused cravings for it (Polivy et al., 2005). ...
... There are indications that a milder form of social influence, namely suggesting not to eat unhealthily (we refer to this type of social influence as suggested rules), may not suffer from negative aftereffects on consumption (Mann & Ward, 2001). This may be the case because, while promoting the same behavior, a suggested rule merely provides a recommendation and leaves the choice up to the individual, whereas a restrictive rule proscribes behavior and interferes with an individual's sense of freedom of choice. ...
... Previous research also provides initial evidence that framing eating-related rules as suggestions rather than restrictions may indeed be a promising alternative strategy for promoting healthier eating behavior. In a set of two studies (Mann & Ward, 2001), college students were either prohibited from eating certain foods or encouraged not to eat them. This led participants in the prohibition group to desire the forbidden food more than a control group did, whereas participants in the encouragement group did not. ...
... There are thus clear indications that restrictive rules may lead to unfavorable health outcomes once the rule is no longer in place, whereas suggested rules may be free of these negative aftereffects. In the eating behavior domain, earlier research has demonstrated such negative effects on cognitive measures of craving and desire (Mann & Ward, 2001), but this research did not find behavioral effects. So far, we are aware of only one (as of yet unpublished) study (De Vet, Stok, & De Ridder, in preparation) that shows actual behavioral effects. ...
Background:
A common social influence technique for curbing unhealthy eating behavior is to communicate eating-related rules (e.g. 'you should not eat unhealthy food'). Previous research has shown that such restrictive rules sometimes backfire and actually increase unhealthy consumption. In the current studies, we aimed to investigate if a milder form of social influence, a suggested rule, is more successful in curbing intake of unhealthy food. We also investigated how both types of rules affected psychological reactance.
Method:
Students (N = 88 in Study 1, N = 51 in Study 2) completed a creativity task while a bowl of M&M's was within reach. Consumption was either explicitly forbidden (restrictive rule) or mildly discouraged (suggested rule). In the control condition, consumption was either explicitly allowed (Study 1) or M&M's were not provided (Study 2). Measures of reactance were assessed after the creativity task. Subsequently, a taste test was administered where all participants were allowed to consume M&M's.
Results:
Across both studies, consumption during the creativity task did not differ between the restrictive- and suggested-rule-conditions, indicating that both are equally successful in preventing initial consumption. Restrictive-rule-condition participants reported higher reactance and consumed more in the free-eating taste-test phase than suggested-rule-condition participants and control-group participants, indicating a negative after-effect of restriction.
Discussion:
RESULTS show that there are more and less effective ways to communicate eating-related rules. A restrictive rule, as compared to a suggested rule, induced psychological reactance and led to greater unhealthy consumption when participants were allowed to eat freely. It is important to pay attention to the way in which eating-related rules are communicated.
... In this research, we argue that one inference might be fostering the other, specifically we put forward that a stronger tendency to categorize food-related information according to a good/bad dichotomy of healthy vs. unhealthy may reinforce consumers' belief that health and taste are inversely related. Dichotomous thinking reflects a type of cognitive inflexibility that has been associated with problematic eating behavior and increased attractiveness of forbidden foods (Mann & Ward, 2001). Increased attractiveness of bad, unhealthy and forbidden foods likely results in more intense taste perceptions of these foods. ...
... Beyond leading to over simplistic generalizations, research found that dichotomous thinking also increases the attractiveness of forbidden food (Mann & Ward, 2001). Forbidden foods are mostly high palatable foods that should be eaten with restraint (e.g. ...
... However, before drawing definitive conclusions regarding the consequences of food addiction beliefs, it is necessary to consider their longer-term impact. More specifically, while food addiction beliefs may encourage individuals to restrict their food intake in the short term, previous research suggests that attempts to restrict food intake over longer time periods can exacerbate cravings and promote disinhibited eating [46,47]. Indeed, our previous findings suggest that self-perceived food addiction is associated with increased, rather than decreased, levels of dietary disinhibition and BMI [18••, 21•]. ...
... Specifically, it is proposed that, over the short term, perceiving oneself to be a food addict elicits attempts to avoid particular 'problem' foods. In turn, and consistent with previous evidence [46,47], it is thought that attempts at dietary restriction will strengthen cravings and eventually lead to the over consumption of the forbidden foods. Finally, these increased cravings and failed attempts at dietary restriction may reinforce perceptions of oneself as a 'food addict', thus resulting in further attempts at dietary restriction. ...
Purpose of Review
The current paper reviews recent research on perceptions of food addiction in the lay public. It also examines the potential consequences of such beliefs for eating behaviour.
Recent Findings
Surveys suggest that, within community samples, the majority of individuals believe that certain foods are addictive, and that food addiction causes obesity. Further, many people believe themselves to be ‘food addicts’, and these individuals demonstrate increased patterns of aberrant eating. However, there is also initial experimental evidence to suggest that believing oneself to be a food addict leads to short-term food restriction.
Summary
To reconcile these findings, a self-perpetuating relationship between food addiction beliefs and aberrant eating is proposed. Specifically, in the short term, food addiction beliefs may encourage individuals to avoid certain foods. However, attempts at restriction may eventually lead to increased cravings and disinhibition, thus reinforcing perceptions of oneself as a food addict. These possibilities merit scrutiny in future research.
... For instance, the attractiveness of a cafeteria's food will increase if people are told that they cannot use that cafeteria for the following two weeks (West, 1975). Furthermore, restricting certain food products increases the desirability of those foods (Mann & Ward, 2001) and leads to their relatively higher consumption (e.g., Jansen, Mulkens, & Jansen, 2007;Stok et al., 2015). The inference from these results is that restricting product touch during an in-store product demonstration may evoke a stronger urge to touch products, thereby increasing the likelihood that customers will touch a larger number of products after the demonstration has taken place and will ultimately end up purchasing a larger number of products and spending more money. ...
... Because the key mechanism at play seems to be a restriction to customers' freedom, several distinct factors could arguably be the trigger for reactance-induced purchases. In support of this claim, previous research has shown, ironically, that restrictions on certain food products increase their desirability (Mann & Ward, 2001) and the resulting consumption of these very products (Jansen et al., 2007;Stok et al., 2015). Additionally, restricting customers' freedom to visit a particular food setting (for example, a cafeteria) results in higher attractiveness ratings of that food setting (West, 1975). ...
... However, unlike the results of previous studies, in previous studies, although participants' desire for forbidden foods increased, consumption did not increase. 44 This may be due to the cessation of offering restricted food to study participants, which was subsequently substituted with alternative options. In our study, patients with CKD had access to forbidden food and were not offered alternate options, making it difficult for patients to resist rebound eating. ...
Background
Dietary management plays an important role in slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease, however, adherence to dietary management remains a significant challenge, particularly in culturally diverse settings like China. Currently, there is limited research on the factors influencing dietary management in Chinese patients with chronic kidney disease. Given this knowledge gap, we aimed to explore the factors influencing dietary management in patients with chronic kidney disease based on the capability, opportunity, motivation, and behavior (COM-B) model and provide culturally suitable insights for the creation of focused interventions.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted between September and November 2024 at the Department of Nephrology, Affiliated Central Hospital of Jiangnan University, with 45 participants, including 19 patients with chronic kidney disease, 10 caregivers, and 16 healthcare professionals. Interview guide themes were informed by the COM-B model. Adoption of a thematic analysis approach and mapping onto the COM-B model. The study was reported following the COREQ Checklist.
Results
Fifteen factors influencing dietary management in chronic kidney disease were categorized according to the COM-B model’s three domains: (1) Capability: physical dysfunction, difficulty in controlling physiological needs, knowledge mastery, willpower and self-control, low self-efficacy; (2) Opportunity: patient-to-patient influence, social support, social culture, limitations in food and advocacy resources, lack of meals for chronic kidney disease patients in hospital canteens; (3) Motivation: value orientation, dietary expectations, experience-driven (a: perceived benefits, b: perceived burden, c: stigma), nervousness, food desires.
Conclusion
This study provides a novel perspective on factors influencing dietary management in chronic kidney disease, highlights the profound impact of Chinese culture on dietary management, and provides a basis for the development of targeted, culturally appropriate intervention programs based on the dimensions of competence, opportunity, and motivation.
... Instead of excluding certain foods completely, they are consumed in limited quantities without guilt (Westenhoefer, 1991;Westenhoefer et al., 1999;Duarte et al., 2017;Hagerman et al., 2021). A mismatch between internal (e.g., hunger) and external stimuli (e.g., food odor) as can be found in former dimension is associated with pathological dietary behaviors (Mann and Ward, 2001;Brown et al., 2012;Linardon, 2018) and lower intuitive eating (Tylka and Kroon Van Diest, 2013;Strodl et al., 2020). Currently, the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q; Fairburn and Beglin, 1994) addresses a broad range of ED symptoms, such as Diatary Restraint, and is thus widely used to screen for and assess ED. ...
Objective
The present article introduces the German translation of the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (IEQ-G), performs a psychometric evaluation, and explores the relationship of Inflexible Eating to the subscales of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Obsessive-Compulsive (OC) symptoms.
Methods
The cross-sectional study was carried out in the German-speaking area. A paper and pencil survey was completed by 612 females and 442 males of the general population.
Results
SEM analyses showed that the IEQ-G allows for calculating a total score and invariance tests were mostly promising. As a side result, the original 4-factorial structure of the EDE-Q could not be replicated, but a 3 dimensional solution proved convincing. From a psychometric point of view, the IEQ-G outperformed the EDE-Q. On a latent level, Inflexible Eating was remarkably strong related to OC-symptoms and the EDE-Q subscales.
Discussion
The detail analyses revealed that Eating Disorder assessment in general lacks subgroup-specific aspects, for instance, regarding gender or dietary preferences, important for early diagnosis and screening of ED. The IEQ-G proved applicable in a German speaking adult population and recommends itself for cross-cultural studies.
... Restricting a food, or telling yourself you can't, or shouldn't have it, can lead to feelings of deprivation and increased desire for that food. This can lead to overeating the forbidden food due to fear there will not be permission in the future(Mann, 2001; Tribole & Resch, 2019).4. Challenge the Food PoliceThe food police monitor unreasonable rules created by diet culture. ...
Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact of an online introductory college nutrition course that implements evidence-based intuitive eating (IE) concepts and principles on students’ application of IE behaviors. A secondary outcome explored the relationship between student grades and changes in IE behavior implementation. Researchers hypothesized an increase in the average use of IE practices post-intervention. Methods: This study was a non-randomized pilot intervention using pre- and post-test surveys. Enrolled students completed the intuitive eating scale-2 (IES-2) survey on the first and last days of the 16-week course. Students participated in typical nutrition coursework throughout the semester with the addition of information on IE. Total and subscale average IES-2 scores were calculated and analyzed before and after the intervention. Results: Weight-neutral, non-diet nutrition education on IE led to improvement in the total average implementation of IE behaviors (p=0.022) in twenty-three college students. No significant changes were detected in the IES-2 subscale measures. A significant positive association was observed between student grades and changes in mean IES-2 scores. Conclusions and Implications: Based on study findings, adding education regarding IE principles into a basic nutrition course is an effective way to significantly increase total IE habits within an undergraduate student population. Results warrant consideration for standardizing incorporation of weight-neutral education in health courses to improve health behaviors.
... BED risk factors T22 Dieting Eating disorders, dieting, and the accuracy of self-reported weight [42] T29 BED Hunger and binge eating: a meta-analysis of studies using ecological momentary assessment [47] T1 EDNOS Comparison of DSM-IV versus proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for eating disorders: Reduction of eating disorder not otherwise specified and validity [48] T7 Food intake Forbidden fruit: Does thinking about a prohibited food lead to its consumption? [49] T36 Cognitive avoidance Cognitive avoidance of threat cues: Association with eating disorder inventory scores among a non-eating-disordered population [50] T46 Eating behavior on mood Effects of eating behavior on mood: a review of the literature [51] T27 Restrained eating Dietary restraint and addictive behaviors: The generalizability of Tiffany's cue reactivity model [52] T4 Obesity Time trends in obesity and eating disorders [53] Factors triggering ED T40 Sexual orientation A comparison of lesbians, gay men, and heterosexuals on weight and restrained eating [54] T31 Internalization Do universal media literacy programs have an effect on weight and shape concern by influencing media internalization? [55] T25 Body size Experimental manipulation of visual attention affects body size adaptation but not body dissatisfaction [56] T33 Ethnicity The impact of racial stereotypes on eating disorder recognition [57] T19 Gender The development and validation of the muscularity-oriented eating test: A novel measure of muscularity-oriented disordered eating [58] T34 Body image, appearance Body image, social comparison, and eating disturbance: A covariance structure modeling investigation [59] T17 Self-esteem Kindness begins with yourself: The role of self-compassion in adolescent body satisfaction and eating pathology [60] T8 Fragile groups Female athletes and eating problems: A meta-analysis [61] AN, BN risk factors ...
Despite the growing importance of eating disorders in society and academic literature, only a few bibliometric review studies using bibliometric analysis were available. Hence, this study aimed to explore and uncover hidden research topics and patterns in articles in terms of eating disorders over the last 30 years. In total, 4111 articles on eating disorders were analyzed using bibliometrics, network analyses, and structural topic modeling as the basis of mixed methods. In addition to general statistics about the journal, several key research topics, such as eating disorder (ED) treatment, ED symptoms, factors triggering ED, family related factors, eating behaviors, and social factors, were found based on topic correlations. This study found the key research variables that are frequently studied with EDs, such as AN, BN, BED, and ARFID. This study may help clinicians comprehend important risk factors associated with EDs. Moreover, the findings about key ED research topics and their association can be helpful for future studies to construct a comprehensive ED research framework. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use topic modeling in an academic journal on EDs and examine the diversity in ED research over 30 years of published research.
... Research outside the setting of organizations shows that prohibiting smoking, marijuana, cybersex, and graffiti makes them more attractive and more likely for people to engage in them (Gosselt et al., 2012). Research also shows that when dieters deny themselves a particular food, their desire for the forbidden food and the frequency of their thoughts about it increase (Mann & Ward, 2001). It has also been found that the more weight people lose with their diet program and the closer they get to their desired weight, the stronger the temptation to break their diets and the more they succumb (Armitage et al., 2014;Soetens et al., 2008). ...
This article takes a novel approach to explaining the causes of unethical behavior in organizations. Instead of explaining the unethical behavior of employees in terms of their bad organization, this article examines how a good organization can lead to employees’ unethical behavior. The main idea is that the more ethical an organization becomes, the higher, in some respects, is the likelihood of unethical behavior. This is due to four threatening forces that become stronger when an organization becomes more ethical. These forces are the upward, downward, backward, and forward forces. Each of these forces is illustrated with two effects and each effect is explained by a specific theory. The effects are the effects of the gold digger, high-jump bar, retreating-cat, forbidden-fruit, cheese slicer, moving-spotlight, repeat-prescription, and keeping-up appearances. This paradox of ethics, when goodness breeds badness, opens new research directions.
... Research outside the setting of organizations shows that prohibiting smoking, marijuana, cybersex, and graffiti makes them more attractive and more likely for people to engage in them (Gosselt, Van Hoof & De Jong, 2012). Research also shows that when dieters deny themselves a particular food, their desire for the forbidden food and the frequency of their thoughts about it increase (Mann & Ward, 2001). It has also been found that the more weight people lose with their diet program and the closer they get to their desired weight, the stronger the temptation to break their diets and the more they succumb (Armitage et al., 2014;Soetens, Braet & Moens, 2008). ...
Instead of explaining the unethical behavior of employees in terms of their bad organization (the so-called bad barrel theory), this article examines how a good organization can explain employees’ unethical behavior. The basic premise is that the more ethical an organization becomes, the higher, in some respects, is the likelihood of unethical behavior. This is due to four threaten-ing forces that become stronger when an organization becomes more ethical. Each of the forces is illustrated with two effects and each effect is ex-plained by a specific theory. This tragedy of ethics, where goodness breeds badness, opens new research directions.
... This thinking style has been shown to be an important factor in the maintenance of eating disorders (Antoniou et al., 2017;Fairburn et al., 2003). Dichotomous thinking increases obsessive processing tendencies by stimulating guilt after consuming forbidden foods (Dewberry & Usher, 1994) and by strengthening their fascination with forbidden foods (Mann & Ward, 2001). In clinical perfectionism, dichotomous thinking is a major factor in its maintenanceand that it biases individuals' assessment of their own achievement of the standards they demand of themselves (Kothari et al., 2016;Shafran et al., 2002). ...
The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of dichotomous thinking on depression. We attempted to test the following hypotheses: 1) dichotomous thinking increases depression, and 2) dichotomous thinking has two routes to increase depression—direct, associative processing, and indirect, reflective processing. Two hundred Japanese college students (Males: 107, Females: 93, M age= 20.02 ± 1.42) were asked to complete the Dichotomous Thinking Inventory, which consists of three subscales: dichotomous belief, profit-and-loss thinking, and preference for dichotomy; the Kessler 6 Distress Scale; and the Japanese version of the Rumination-reflection Questionnaire. We conducted structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses. The results supported the hypotheses and indicated that dichotomous thinking increased depression. There were two different routes: dichotomous belief directly increased depression and profit-and-loss thinking indirectly increased depression by way of rumination. There are some implications of the findings. This study suggests that cognitive distortions might causes depression from two paths and practical interventions might also have two different routes or approaches to depression.
... Koven and Senbonmatsu [17] also suggested that in the development of ON, orthorexic behaviours (e.g.: revolving food selection, food preparation and food consumption) will become more rigid, predominant and complex. Previous literature has shown that in fact, this adherence to specific eating rules is associated with pathological eating behaviours [18][19][20]. Moreover, psychological inflexibility has a strong association with eating-related difficulties [21][22][23][24]. ...
Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) has been a research focus in recent years. Despite the lack of consensus on its defnition and classifcation as a psychiatric disorder, research has shown that ON is linked to certain behaviours (orthorexic behaviours, e.g.: obsessive thinking and compulsive behavior, guilt and self-punishment, restriction), associated with disordered eating. However, very little is known about this relationship. The aim of this study was to explore the eating-related processes inherent to the relationship between orthorexic behaviours and disordered eating, and understand if it is through the adoption of a more infexible and less intuitive eating approach, that an interest in healthy eating develops into a pathological one, while controlling the efect of age and BMI. Additionally, this relationship was explored for two diferent groups: Omnivores and Non-omnivores.
Four hundred ffty-one women (281 Omnivores and 170 Non-omnivores) from the Portuguese population participated in this study, by answering a set of self-report measures.
Non-omnivores presented signifcant higher levels of orthorexic behaviours and infexible eating. In both groups, orthorexic behaviours and disordered eating were linked positively to infexible eating and negatively to intuitive eating. A path model analyses showed that the preferred eating approach mediated the relationship between orthorexic behaviours and disordered eating, explaining 51% of the variance of disordered eating. A multigroup analysis confrmed the model invariance between Omnivores and Non-omnivores.
Our fndings contribute to the better understanding of the relationship between orthorexic behaviours and disordered eating and its eating-related processes. Future research regarding the clinical intervention and prevention of ON in women should focus on encouraging a more intuitive eating approach.
Level of evidence: IV, cross-sectional study
... Dichotomous thinking and rumination have also been linked to the maintenance of eating disorders (Fairburn, Cooper, & Shafran, 2003;Park, Dunn, & Barnard, 2012). Dichotomous thinking is a form of cognitive rigidity that increases the appeal of "forbidden" food (Mann & Ward, 2001), enhances obsessiveness about food, and produces feelings of guilt if such food is consumed (Dewberry & Ussher, 2001). Rumination is a cognitive feature that includes recurring thoughts or worries about issues such as food, eating, body image, and self-esteem and may reinforce disordered eating behaviors (Schwitzer & Choate, 2015). ...
Eating disorders often emerge, resurface, or worsen in individuals during college (National Eating Disorders Association, 2013), substantiating the need to identify protective factors. The relationship between mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotion regulation and disordered eating was examined in a sample of 100 university students. Results of a path analysis indicated significant direct and indirect effects. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed. © 2019 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.
... There is considerable evidence that the effort needed to deal with something difficult leaves little capacity to perform other challenges satisfactorily (Baumeister, Vohs & Tice, 2007;Mann & Ward, 2000;Inzlincht & Gutsell, 2007;Erskine 2007). For instance, in a study by Baumeister and colleagues (1998), participants ate either radishes or chocolate chip cookies while both foods were visible, and then they tried a puzzle that was unsolvable. ...
Gaps in research on reduction of obesity (Chapter 1) can be filled by experiments on effects on weight of changing the frequencies of habits of healthy eating and exercise (Chapter 2). This Thesis shows that changes in weight and customary habits can be tracked reliably. People’s descriptions of meals as healthy were consistent with national guidelines (Chapter3). Participants agreed on which of such freely worded accounts of eating occasions referred to the same habit (Chapter 4). The frequency of a habit was calculated from recalled date and time of its most recent occasions: these timings were accurately recalled over two days (Chapter 5) although precision decreased after a week (Chapter 6). There was no evidence that records of weights were biased by expectations of weight loss (Chapter 7). Data from small samples indicated weight was reduced over 2-3 weeks by less frequent high-fat meals and calories between meals but not by more frequent vigorous exercise (Chapters 8 and 9). Habit frequency changes sometimes reversed from a variety of causes (Chapter 10). A full-scale experiment is designed to substantiate such findings (Chapter 11). After extension to other localities, such research could be an immediate help in reducing obesity (Chapter 12).
... First, it is related to Ekman's (2001) concept of "duping delight," or the exhilaration caused by successfully deceiving others, which to date, lacks an empirical demonstration (DePaulo et al., 2003). Second, it is related to research on "forbidden fruit," which suggests that people find objects and experiences that are forbidden or taboo to be more attractive and alluring than those that are not forbidden (Alberts, Mulkens, Smeets, & Thewissen, 2010;Fishbach, 2009;Mann & Ward, 2001;Pechmann & Shih, 1999). This work does not address the affective consequences of unethical behavior but does suggest a contributing factor: People may enjoy engaging in behaviors that are prohibited. ...
... Moreover, Duarte and colleagues [24] showed that an inflexible adoption of eating rules is a central process for understanding eating psychopathology in teenage girls. Indeed, the inflexible adherence of eating rules without meeting internal and external cues, has been conceptualized as a maladaptive emotional strategy to face body dissatisfaction, which has a paradoxical effect by increasing body and eating-related concerns and the adoption of maladaptive eating behaviours [25,26]. ...
Feelings of social safeness and connectedness have been associated with adaptive emotion regulation processes and well-being indicators. Further, literature has demonstrated that interpersonal experiences play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of body and eating psychopathology. However, the study of the role of social variables and emotion regulation processes in the engagement in inflexible eating rules and eating psychopathology is still in its early stages. The current study aims to fill some gaps within the literature and explore the mediator role of body appreciation and inflexible eating rules in the link between social safeness and disordered eating. Participants were 253 women, aged between 18 and 50 years old, who completed a series of online self-report measures. Results from the tested path analysis model showed that social safeness holds a significant effect on eating psychopathology, through the mechanisms of body appreciation and inflexible eating rules. Also, results suggested that women who present higher levels of social safeness tend to present a more positive and respectful attitude towards their body and decreased adoption of inflexible eating rules, which seem to explain lower levels of disordered eating behaviours. These findings seem to present empirical support for the development of intervention programs that promote a positive, affectionate and healthy relationship with one’s body image, in order to prevent the inflexible adherence to eating rules and disordered eating behaviours.
... First, it is related to Ekman's (2001) concept of "duping delight," or the exhilaration caused by successfully deceiving others, which to date, lacks an empirical demonstration (DePaulo et al., 2003). Second, it is related to research on "forbidden fruit," which suggests that people find objects and experiences that are forbidden or taboo to be more attractive and alluring than those that are not forbidden (Alberts, Mulkens, Smeets, & Thewissen, 2010;Fishbach, 2009;Mann & Ward, 2001;Pechmann & Shih, 1999). This work does not address the affective consequences of unethical behavior but does suggest a contributing factor: People may enjoy engaging in behaviors that are prohibited. ...
... Is the willful suppression or negation of desire experiences an effective regulatory strategy? Most of the literature on appetitive thought suppression suggests otherwise (Barnes & Tantleff-Dunn, 2010;Erskine, 2008;Johnston, Bulik, & Anstiss, 1999;Mann & Ward, 2001). The problem with the forced suppression of desire is that, even though suppression may provide some short-term relief, it may often backfire, leading to so-called ironic rebound effects (Wegner, 1994). ...
... Notably, in study 2 we did not uncover any significant effect of personal food addiction beliefs on longer-term dieting intentions. Previous research has shown that attempts to restrict food intake over longer time periods can be futile by exacerbating cravings and promoting disinhibited eating patterns (11,36,37). On this basis, believing oneself to be a food addict might not be conducive to successful longer-term dietary control and weight management. ...
Objective:
Obesity is often attributed to an addiction to food, and many people believe themselves to be "food addicts." However, little is known about how such beliefs may affect dietary control and weight management. The current research examined the impact of experimentally manipulating participants' personal food addiction beliefs on eating behavior.
Methods:
In two studies, female participants (study 1: N = 64; study 2: N = 90) completed food-related computerized tasks and were given bogus feedback on their performance which indicated that they had high, low, or average food addiction tendencies. Food intake was then assessed in an ad libitum taste test. Dietary concern and time taken to complete the taste test were recorded in study 2.
Results:
In study 1, participants in the high-addiction condition consumed fewer calories than those in the low-addiction condition, F(1,60) = 7.61, P = 0.008, ηp (2) = 0.11. Study 2 replicated and extended this finding, showing that the effect of the high-addiction condition on food intake was mediated by increased dietary concern, which reduced the amount of time participants willingly spent exposed to the foods during the taste test, b = -0.06 (0.03), 95% confidence interval = -0.13 to -0.01.
Conclusions:
Believing oneself to be a food addict is associated with short-term dietary restriction. The longer-term effects on weight management now warrant attention.
... For example, in the U.S., it is common to categorize some foods as simply unhealthy in any amount (Rozin, Ashmore, & Markwith, 1996) and, therefore, set restrictions against consumption. While such restrictions on eating may be initially successful, there is evidence that once the rule is no longer in place or cannot be enforced, desire to eat the forbidden food increases (Mann & Ward, 2001) and food consumption can increase as an "after effect" (Jansen, Mulkens, Emond, & Jansen, 2008;Stok, de Vet, de Wit, Renner, & de Ridder, 2015). ...
... Previous research suggests that restraint connotes a focus on external barriers to consumption, making people feel that they do not have the power to cope with the temptation (Patrick & Hagtvedt, 2012). Additionally, initial acts of restraint tend to result in subsequent increases in consumption (e.g., Jansen, Mulkens, & Jansen, 2007;Mann & Ward, 2001;Vohs & Heatherton, 2000). Therefore, we predicted that postponing a temptation (i.e., saying some other time) would be more effective for taming desire and consumption than the classic self-control mechanism of restraint (i.e., saying no, not ever) and indulgence. ...
The present investigation began with the conjecture that people may do better by saying "some other time" instead of "no, not ever" in response to temptations. Drawing from learning theories, we hypothesized that people interpret unspecific postponement ("I can have it some other time") as a signal that they do not strongly value the postponed temptation. In this way, unspecific postponement may reduce desire for and consumption of postponed temptations, both in the present moment and over time. Four experiments tested those hypotheses. A multiphase study using the free-choice paradigm supported the learning account for the effects of postponement: Unspecific postponement reduced immediate desire for a self-selected temptation which in turn statistically accounted for diminished consumption during the week after the manipulation-but only when postponement was induced, not when it was imposed (Experiment 1). Supporting the hypothesis that unspecific but not specific postponement connotes weak valuation, only unspecific postponement reduced attention to (Experiment 2) and consumption of (Experiment 3) the postponed temptation. Additionally, unspecific postponement delayed consumption primarily among those who were highly motivated to forgo consumption of the temptation (Experiment 3). A final multiphase experiment compared the effectiveness of unspecific postponement to the classic self-control mechanism of restraint, finding that unspecific postponement (vs. restraint) reduced consumption of the temptation in the heat of the moment and across 1 week postmanipulation (Experiment 4). The current research provides novel insight into self-control facilitation, the modification of desire, and the differential effects of unspecific and specific intentions for reducing unwanted behavior.
... Una muestra de ello se puede encontrar en los trabajos sobre metacognición de Wegner (1994), que demuestran que, cuanto más se intenta no pensar en algo, más probable es que se acabe pensando justamente en ello. La importancia de estos efectos paradójicos de la supresión del pensamiento ha quedado patente en los trabajos llevados a cabo con pacientes con TCA (Boon, Stroebe, Schout y Ijntema, 2002;Mann y Ward, 2001) y sugieren la necesidad de diseñar intervenciones basadas en estrategias mentales de distracción más que de negación, represión o supresión (e.g., Roemer y Salters, 2004;Robins, 2002). Los trabajos sobre rumiación mental y repetición del pensamiento (e.g., Segerstrom, Stanton, Alden y Shortridge, 2003), así como las teorías intuitivas que las personas tienen sobre la experiencia subjetiva que acompaña a esa repetición mental (Briñol, Petty y Tormala, 2006), constituyen otros ejemplos sobre trabajos de metacognición con potencial de aplicación práctica en el contexto terapéutico. ...
Las actitudes hacia la imagen que las personas tienen de su cuerpo constituyen un elemento central en la comprensión y el tratamiento de los trastornos del comportamiento alimentario (TCA). En el presente trabajo de investigación se llevó a cabo un estudio en el que se modificaron las actitudes hacia el cuerpo de los participantes a través de un tratamiento persuasivo que implicaba una alta elaboración mental (autopersuasión) o a través de un procedimiento que requería menos participación activa (exposición pasiva). Tal y como se esperaba, los participantes de los dos grupos de tratamiento mostraron unas actitudes hacia su cuerpo significativamente más favorables que aquellos del grupo control. No obstante, a pesar de que los dos grupos de tratamiento mostraron un cambio de actitudes similar, la fuerza de las mismas varió en función del procedimiento a través del cual se modificaron dichas actitudes.
El grupo de alta elaboración mostró unas actitudes más fuertes que el grupo de baja elaboración.
Este último resultado tiene una importancia considerable para el tratamiento de los TCA puesto que la fuerza de las actitudes determina el impacto a largo plazo de las mismas
... These divergent findings indicate that the characteristics of foods associated with food cravings are not obvious or easily distinguished. Although Mann and Ward [8] suggested that craved foods are liked but restricted, this claim has not been demonstrated empirically. Therefore, the first aim of the current study was to examine whether craved foods are those that are liked but restricted. ...
Craved foods are thought to be those that are well liked but restricted. However, this claim has not been demonstrated empirically. Japanese female undergraduate students (n = 144) completed a questionnaire measuring their craving for, degree of liking, and frequency of restricting their eating of 47 widely consumed foods. The food with the highest mean craving score was rice. We plotted the craving scores as a function of restriction and liking scores for the 47 foods. The students’ craving scores were strongly correlated with their restriction scores and liking scores. Thus, craved foods are those that are restricted and liked. However, in both scatter plots, rice was an outlier. While it was the most craved food, neither the restriction nor liking score of rice was very high. These findings were consistent with the view that craved foods are generally liked, yet restricted, implying the generation of food related conflicts. Interestingly, the mechanism of craving rice, the main staple in Japan, may differ from other foods.
... If the fruit is not forbidden, it is not half as seductive. For instance, people develop a strong preference for food that they have been prohibited to eat (Fisher & Birch, 1999;Mann & Ward, 2001). Thus, somehow the (expected) negative aspects of engaging in a certain activity will make the experience of the object or situation more seductive and attractive. ...
This paper demonstrates how designers can enrich user experiences by purposefully involving negative emotions in user-product interaction. This approach is derived from a framework of rich experience, which explains how and under what circumstances negative emotions make a product experience richer and enjoyable. The approach consists of three steps, where the designer decides 1) which negative emotion is most appropriate for the user context; 2) how and when this emotion is best elicited; and 3) which protective frame is most appropriate to use and in what way it is applied to the product concept. Ten experience qualities were developed that offer prefabricated combinations of these steps, which are intended to lower the threshold of using the approach. The steps for these qualities are described, and each is briefly discussed. Lastly, the applicability of the approach in design is demonstrated by showing six examples of how the qualities have been used to generate concrete product concepts. Reflecting on the approach, we conclude that negative emotions are a viable and interesting starting point for creating emotionally rich product experiences.
... An alternatively explanation for the generalized startle response is methodological: participants might have also restricted consumption of the palatable and energy dense items contained in the 'food' category, even though they were not instructed to do so. Last, food restriction can increase thoughts about 'forbidden fruits' through ironic processes: what needs to be suppressed becomes more available [66,67,68]. These ironic processes could have made the whole category of high-calorie, palatable snacks more available or attractive. ...
Many individuals restrict their food intake to prevent weight gain. This restriction has both homeostatic and hedonic effects but their relative contribution is currently unclear. To isolate hedonic effects of food restriction, we exposed regular chocolate eaters to one week of chocolate deprivation but otherwise regular eating. Before and after this hedonic deprivation, participants viewed images of chocolate and images of high-calorie but non-chocolate containing foods, while experiential, behavioral and eyeblink startle responses were measured. Compared to satiety, hedonic deprivation triggered increased chocolate wanting, liking, and chocolate consumption but also feelings of frustration and startle potentiation during the intertrial intervals. Deprivation was further characterized by startle inhibition during both chocolate and food images relative to the intertrial intervals. Individuals who responded with frustration to the manipulation and those who scored high on a questionnaire of impulsivity showed more relative startle inhibition. The results reveal the profound effects of hedonic deprivation on experiential, behavioral and attentional/appetitive response systems and underscore the role of individual differences and state variables for startle modulation. Implications for dieting research and practice as well as for eating and weight disorders are discussed.
... Specifically, these interventions may empower people to mentally disengage from ongoing cravings by accepting them as transient events that will eventually fade rather than by trying to suppress them. This interpretation is consistent with earlier work showing that willful suppression of desire bears the potential to backfire (Johnston, Bulik, & Anstiss, 1999;Mann & Ward, 2001), presumably because it constantly redirects attention toward the very mental content one is trying to avoid. ...
Traditionally, self-control research has put a strong focus on the mechanisms that support the control of behavior in the face of temptation. This emphasis in the field has led to some neglect of desire as an impelling force that needs to be controlled. However, the focus appears to be shifting, as recent research has led to novel insights into the nature of desire. In this review, we integrate these insights into how desire emerges, how it operates, and how it may best be controlled. Drawing on competitive-access models of working memory and dynamical reprocessing models, we highlight, among other factors, the role of top-down attentional resources in preventing the early conscious processing and subsequent escalation of desire.
Este estudo avaliou se privação (Priv) e/ou restrição (Rest) alimentar, combinadas ou não com a presença de comer transtornado (CT), influenciam no valor reforçador do alimento. Oito mulheres, quatro classificadas com CT e quatro sem, foram submetidas às sessões experimentais: Priv e Rest, Priv e NRest, NPriv e Rest, NPriv e NRest após jejum mínimo de oito horas. Posteriormente, um jogo foi apresentado no qual as participantes poderiam ganhar pontos para trocar por alimento ou lazer. Na alternativa correspondente a lazer, o esquema programado de liberação de pontos foi a Razão Variável 2 (VR2) e na alternativa correspondente ao alimento, um esquema encadeado (VR2, VR4, VR6, VR8, VR10). Antes do início do jogo foi servida, na condição de NPriv, uma bebida. Na Priv, as participantes não consumiram a bebida por quinze minutos. Na condição de Rest, um prato com alimentos foi apresentado durante quinze minutos, sem que pudessem comer e na NRest, não foi apresentado. Resultados sugerem que a Priv parece ter influenciado mais no valor reforçador do alimento comparada à Rest e os efeitos do CT na escolha por alimento ou lazer não foram claramente identificados,apontando a necessidade de novas pesquisas.
Introduction:
the multifaceted nature of food craving mirrors the complexity underlying the development of eating disorders.
Objectives:
the study aimed to investigate the impact of a 6-week dietary and lifestyle intervention on food cravings, eating behaviors, and changes in physical and biochemical measures among women.
Methods:
this study constitutes a behavior modification investigation involving a cohort of 35 female participants who sought consultation at a private nutrition counseling facility. At first, anthropometric and biochemical data were recorded; Information Form, Food Craving Questionnaire-Trait Scale (FCQ-T), Three-Factor Eating Scale (TFEQ-R21) were applied and 3-Day Food Consumption Records were taken. After 6 weeks of dietitian follow-up, the data collection tools were repeated and the individuals were compared with the baseline.
Results:
after 6-week follow-up, according to the examination of the food consumption records, differences in daily energy, fat, monounsaturated fatty acid, fibre, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, iron intake levels were found significant (p < 0.05). Differences in body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist/height ratio, fat mass, fat ratio and fasting glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, AST, TSH, free T3, free T4 levels were found significant (p < 0.05). According to the FCQ-T evaluation; differences in total and nine sub-dimension scores of the scale were found significant (p < 0.001). According to the TFEQ-R21 evaluation; differences in cognitive restraint, emotional eating and uncontrolled eating scores were found significant (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
a successful 6-week dietary and lifestyle intervention with improvement in anthropometric measurements and biochemical parameters is effective in reducing food cravings and regulating eating behaviours.
Требования потребителей к более экологичным принципам производства традиционных продуктов питания привели к тому, что натуральные гидроколлоиды стали предметом внимания современной пищевой промышленности. Отличаясь биосовместимостью, доступностью и уникальными физико- химическими свойствами, гидроколлоиды являются важными компонентами активно развивающихся альтернативных продуктов питания и биоразлагаемой функциональной пищевой упаковки. Последние исследования выявили проблемы, возникающие при создании этих продуктов, которые можно решить за счет более глубокого понимания взаимодействия между компонентами сложной смеси на основе гидроколлоидов. В обзоре обобщены сведения о применении природных гидроколлоидов в качестве перспективных многофункциональных материалов для инновационных технологий, в которых приоритетными являются безопасность и экологичность продуктов питания. В нем также представлен обзор свойств этих веществ с акцентом на их поведение при желировании и способы улучшения гидроколлоидной матрицы для получения материалов с желаемой текстурой, запахом, внешним видом и функциональными свойствами.
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Bu araştırmanın amacı, yeme arzusu ve yeme tutumu düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkide beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejilerinin aracılık rolüne ilişkin geliştirilen teorik modelin test edilmesidir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu 18- 40 yaş aralığındaki (Ort.= 23.5) 372’si (%79) kadın, 99’u (%21) erkek olmak üzere toplam 471 kişi ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak Yeme Arzusu Ölçeği Kısa Formu, Yeme Tutum Testi (YTT-26) ve Beden İmgesi Baş Edebilme Stratejileri Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Çalışmada önerilen teorik model Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli ile test edilmiştir. Analizler sonucu elde edilen bulgular, yeme arzusu ile yeme tutumu ve beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejileri arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişki olduğu yönündedir. Benzer şekilde beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejileri ile yeme tutumu arasında da pozitif bir ilişki bulunduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejilerinin yeme arzusu ve yeme tutumu arasındaki ilişkide kısmi aracı değişken olarak rol oynadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu sonuç da beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejilerinin önemini ortaya koymaktadır.
Bu araştırmanın amacı, yeme arzusu ve yeme tutumu düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkide beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejilerinin aracılık rolüne ilişkin geliştirilen teorik modelin test edilmesidir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu 18-40 yaş aralığındaki (Ort.= 23.5) 372"si (%79) kadın, 99"u (%21) erkek olmak üzere toplam 471 kişi ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak Yeme Arzusu Ölçeği Kısa Formu, Yeme Tutum Testi (YTT-26) ve Beden İmgesi Baş Edebilme Stratejileri Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Çalışmada önerilen teorik model Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli ile test edilmiştir. Analizler sonucu elde edilen bulgular, yeme arzusu ile yeme tutumu ve beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejileri arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişki olduğu yönündedir. Benzer şekilde beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejileri ile yeme tutumu arasında da pozitif bir ilişki bulunduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejilerinin yeme arzusu ve yeme tutumu arasındaki ilişkide kısmi aracı değişken olarak rol oynadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu sonuç da beden imgesi baş edebilme stratejilerinin önemini ortaya koymaktadır. The purpose of this research is to test the theoretical model developed regarding the mediating role of body image coping strategies in the relationship between food craving and eating attitude levels. The study group of the research was carried out with a total of 471 people, 372 (79%) female and 99 (21%) male, in the 18-40 age range (Mean= 23.5). Food Craving Scale Short Form, Eating Attitude Test (YTT-26) and Body Image Coping Strategies Scale were used as data collection tools. The theoretical model proposed in the study was tested with the Structural Equation Model. The findings obtained as a result of the analyzes indicate that there is a positive relationship between the desire to eat, eating attitude and body image coping strategies. Similarly, it was concluded that there is a positive relationship between body image coping strategies and eating attitude. In addition, it was concluded that body image coping strategies play a partial mediating role in the relationship between eating desire and eating attitude. This result reveals the importance of body image coping strategies.
Internally regulated eating style, the eating style that is driven by internal bodily sensations of hunger and satiation, is a concept that has received increasing attention in the literature and health practice over the last decades. The various attempts that have been made so far to conceptualize internally regulated eating have taken place independently of one another and each sheds light on only parts of the total picture of what defines internally regulated eating. This has resulted in a literature that is rather fragmented. More importantly, it is not yet clear which are the characteristics that comprise this eating style. In this paper, we identify and describe the full spectrum of these characteristics, namely, sensitivity to internal hunger and satiation signals, self-efficacy in using internal hunger and satiation signals, self-trusting attitude for the regulation of eating, relaxed relationship with food, and tendency to savor the food while eating. With this research, we introduce a common language to the field and we present a new theoretical framework that does justice not just to the full breadth of characteristics that are necessary for the internally regulated eating style but also to the associations between them and the potential mechanisms by which they contribute to this eating style.
This study presents the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire (IEQ), which measures the inflexible adherence to subjective eating rules. The scale's structure and psychometric properties were examined in distinct samples from the general population comprising both men and women. IEQ presented an 11-item one-dimensional structure, revealed high internal consistency, construct and temporal stability, and discriminated eating psychopathology cases from non-cases. The IEQ presented significant associations with dietary restraint, eating psychopathology, body image inflexibility, general psychopathology symptoms, and decreased intuitive eating. IEQ was a significant moderator on the association between dietary restraint and eating psychopathology symptoms. Findings suggested that the IEQ is a valid and useful instrument with potential implications for research on psychological inflexibility in disordered eating.
Per riflettere sugli aspetti psicologici legati al consumo delle bevande analcoliche è necessario collocare questo fenomeno nel più vasto tema dell’alimentazione. Per gli esseri umani mangiare e bere rappresentano necessità fisiologiche, ma anche la possibilità di esprimere sentimenti, emozioni, stati d’animo. L’atto di mangiare o bere deve quindi essere considerato, oltre che per il suo aspetto nutrizionale, anche per quello relazionale, cognitivo e affettivo.
Chocolate is cheaper than therapy, and the appointment is not necessary this quote which came from an unknown person, gives an idea of some of the properties associated with chocolate; it gives instant pleasure, it is considered one of the favorite foods consumed during comfort eating and it is also one of the most craved foods [1]-[4].
This chapter discusses the ubiquity of food cues in our environment and reviews the literature on people's responses to them. Such cues make it particularly difficult for humans to reduce, let alone control, their food intake and, particularly, to restrict their intake to the levels required for life-extension. This chapter also discusses the differences between animals in caloric-restriction experiments in laboratories and free-living humans in our society. It argues that the super-abundance of food cues in our society makes it particularly difficult for people to restrain their eating and diet successfully or achieve real caloric restriction. Several studies have focused on how the presence of food cues influences restrained and unrestrained eaters (chronic dieters and non-dieters). Restrained eaters attempt to control their food intake in order to lose weight. They are also susceptible to disinhibition of this restraint, so that they often overeat when their inhibitions are violated or even merely threatened. Rogers and Hill showed that the sight and smell of attractive foods increased hunger, salivation, and eating in restrained eaters more than in unrestrained eaters exposed to the cues, restrained eaters not exposed to food cues, and restrained eaters exposed to unattractive, non-preferred foods. However, the changes in hunger ratings and/or salivation did not predict the amount of food eaten by individual participants: the amount eaten following exposure to food cues is thus not mediated by hunger. It appears that the mere sight and smell of palatable food, however, can overwhelm dieters' motivation to restrain their eating.
Adolescence has been considered a critical time for the development of body image-related difficulties and disordered eating behaviours, especially in females. Although adherence to eating rules has been linked to disordered eating, literature has not yet explored how the inflexible subscription to those rules impacts on eating psychopathology. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore whether inflexible eating impacts on the relationships between weight and body image-related variables, and disordered eating.
Participated in this study are 497 female adolescents from the community, aged between 14 and 18 years old, who completed self-report measures.
Results revealed that the majority of the participants were dissatisfied with their weight and body shape. Moreover, 6.64 % of the participants demonstrated severe eating psychopathology. A path analysis revealed that BMI, body dissatisfaction and social comparisons based on physical appearance impact on disordered eating behaviours, through the mechanism of inflexible adherence to eating rules. This model explained 52 % of eating psychopathology's variance.
Findings highlight the relevance of body image-related difficulties in adolescence and additionally they emphasise the importance of promoting more flexible attitudes towards eating in prevention and intervention programmes with female adolescents.
Objective
Many individuals have difficulty adhering to a weight loss diet. One possible explanation could be that dietary restriction paradoxically contributes to overconsumption. The objective of this study was to examine ingestive behavior under a forced chocolate restriction with a focus on the anticipatory restriction period and the post-restriction period in frequent chocolate consumers.Methods
Fifty-six male (N = 18) and female (N = 38) high chocolate consumers with high (N = 25) or low (N = 31) cognitive disinhibition participated. Chocolate snacks were provided for a week each to establish baseline, pre-restriction, and post-restriction consumption, Chocolate snacks were replaced with nonchocolate snacks during a 3-week chocolate restriction period.ResultsHighly disinhibited participants felt more guilty and consumed significantly more energy than low disinhibited participants across snack conditions. Low disinhibited participants consumed significantly less in the post-restriction period compared to baseline and the pre-restriction period, while high disinhibited participants consumed the same amount across all conditions. Aggregating the data, high and low disinhibited chocolate consumers ate snacks more frequently in the pre- and post-restriction periods compared to the baseline period.Conclusions
This study suggests that for some individuals, restriction of a preferred food like chocolate may be contraindicated for energy restriction and weight management.
This study evaluates the influences of chronicity of, and time lag between, dietary restriction and binge outcome for predicting binge episode onset. Sixty-two women aged 18 to 40 years old completed an online survey at random intervals seven times daily for a 7-day period. Participants self-reported engagement in dietary restriction and/or binging, and temptation to binge. Consecutive instances of reported dietary restriction better predicted subsequent binges than single instances. As the time lag between the first report of dietary restriction and binge onset increased, a clear linear trend emerged, such that the value of restriction for predicting binges increased with the number of consecutive assessments in which they reported dietary restriction. A similar pattern was found when predicting temptation to binge. Present findings suggest that duration of restriction is a crucial determinant of binge onset. These findings have implications for clinical practice by highlighting the time course from dietary restriction to binging. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
This study set out to explore the experience of food cravings and thirst, and their management strategies in patients on hemodialysis. Semi-structured interviews with N = 32 hemodialysis patients were analyzed thematically. Findings indicated that food cravings and thirst were common in everyday life of patients and resulted in different emotional responses. A combination of cognitive and behavioral strategies was employed, including avoidance, controlled consumption, and substitution. Self-monitoring and compensatory strategies were also used to prevent or compensate for lapses. These findings lay the groundwork for future work aimed to improve adherence in end-stage renal disease patients.
Fast food is often mentioned when investigating the obesity epidemic. While many health professionals generally perceive of fast foods as 'bad', a new perspective of manageable fast food consumption has been suggested. The macronutrient content of traditional fast food meals and healthier choices from six of the dominant fast food chains in Australia were calculated to determine the nutritional outcomes of a fast food meal. On average, a traditional fast food meal accounted for 47.47% of an 8400 kJ daily guideline. Total fat, however, accounted for between 47.08% and 93.48% of a daily guideline. The healthier choices were lower in overall kilojoule (kJ) and total fat. Fast food is increasingly becoming part of our eating patterns. Traditional fast food meals are indeed energy dense. In terms of kilojoule intake alone, a traditional fast food meal can be incorporated reasonably into a daily intake without necessarily promoting obesity. Health professionals should educate consumers of the simple 'healthy' choices they can make when eating fast food.:
Chocolate has become almost ubiquitous in its widespread availability.
There has been a consistent rise in the average size of chocolate bars.
These factors have resulted in increased average consumption and a need to attempt to restrain one’s intake.
Two common strategies to avoid consuming too much chocolate are (1) to try not to think about chocolate and (2) to try not to eat chocolate.
Studies are now indicating that both trying not to think of chocolate and deliberately restraining oneself from eating it can result in increased rather than reduced subsequent consumption.
Although these effects can present in most individuals, they appear to be strongest in restrained eaters or participants with a high propensity towards dieting.
A theory of ironic processes of mental control is proposed to account for the intentional and counterintentional effects that result from efforts at self-control of mental states. The theory holds that an attempt to control the mind introduces 2 processes: (a) an operating process that promotes the intended change by searching for mental contents consistent with the intended state and (b) a monitoring process that tests whether the operating process is needed by searching for mental contents inconsistent with the intended state. The operating process requires greater cognitive capacity and normally has more pronounced cognitive effects than the monitoring process, and the 2 working together thus promote whatever degree of mental control is enjoyed. Under conditions that reduce capacity, however, the monitoring process may supersede the operating process and thus enhance the person's sensitivity to mental contents that are the ironic opposite of those that are intended.
We examined how the suppression of an exciting thought influences sympathetic arousal as indexed by skin conductance level (SCL). Subjects were asked to think aloud as they followed instructions to think about or not to think about various topics. Experiment 1 showed that trying not to think about sex, like thinking about sex, elevates SCL in comparison to thinking about or not thinking about less exciting topics (e.g., dancing). Experiment 2 revealed that the suppression of the thought of sex yielded SCL elevation whether or not subjects believed their think-aloud reports would be private or public, and it also revealed that the effect dissipated over the course of a few minutes. Experiment 3 found such dissipation again but showed that subsequent intrusions of the suppressed exciting thought are associated with further elevations in SCL over 30 min. Because such an association was not found when subjects were trying to think about the exciting thought, it was suggested that the suppression of exciting thoughts might be involved in the production of chronic emotional responses such as phobias and obsessive preoccupations.
We first establish the association between binge eating and dieting and present sequence data indicating that dieting usually precedes binging, chronologically. We propose that dieting causes binging by promoting the adoption of a cognitively regulated eating style, which is necessary if the physiological defense of body weight is to be overcome. The defense of body weight entails various metabolic adjustments that assist energy conservation, but the behavioral reaction of binge eating is best understood in cognitive, not physiological, terms. By supplanting physiological regulatory controls with cognitive controls, dieting makes the dieter vulnerable to disinhibition and consequent overeating. Implications for therapy are discussed, as are the societal consequences of regarding dieting as a "solution" to the problem of binging.
Indicates that there are striking behavioral parallels between obese individuals and hungry individuals, suggesting that many obese individuals are actually in a chronic state of energy deficit and are genuinely hungry, perhaps because they attempt to hold their weight below its biologically dictated "set point." This conclusion is consistent with the remarkable similarities between the behavior of obese human beings and the behavior of animals that become obese after lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus. Consideration of these parallels suggests a reexamination of traditional views of hunger and the ventromedial hypothalamus syndrome. (106 ref.)
People sometimes find themselves making movement errors that represent the ironic opposite of what they intended to do. These studies examined this tendency in the case of putting a golf ball and swinging a handheld pendulum, and found that ironic errors were particularly likely when participants who were instructed to avoid them tried to do so under mental load or physical load. The idea that such errors may be prompted by a monitoring process that increases sensitivity to the most undesirable outcome of an intention was supported by the finding of a tendency for ironic errors to be more evident when participants were allowed to monitor their action visually than when they could not.
In a first experiment, subjects verbalizing the stream of consciousness for a 5-min period were asked to try not to think of a white bear, but to ring a bell in case they did. As indicated both by mentions and by bell rings, they were unable to suppress the thought as instructed. On being asked after this suppression task to think about the white bear for a 5-min period, these subjects showed significantly more tokens of thought about the bear than did subjects who were asked to think about a white bear from the outset. These observations suggest that attempted thought suppression has paradoxical effects as a self-control strategy, perhaps even producing the very obsession or preoccupation that it is directed against. A second experiment replicated these findings and showed that subjects given a specific thought to use as a distracter during suppression were less likely to exhibit later preoccupation with the thought to be suppressed.
A theory of ironic processes of mental control is proposed to account for the intentional and counterintentional effects that result from efforts at self-control of mental states. The theory holds that an attempt to control the mind introduces 2 processes: (a) an operating process that promotes the intended change by searching for mental contents consistent with the intended state and (b) a monitoring process that tests whether the operating process is needed by searching for mental contents inconsistent with the intended state. The operating process requires greater cognitive capacity and normally has more pronounced cognitive effects than the monitoring process, and the 2 working together thus promote whatever degree of mental control is enjoyed. Under conditions that reduce capacity, however, the monitoring process may supersede the operating process and thus enhance the person's sensitivity to mental contents that are the ironic opposite of those that are intended.
Experimental suppression of a neutral target thought often results in a subsequent "rebound" in the frequency of the thought. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that suppression of weight-related thoughts contributes to body weight preoccupations characteristic of dieters.
Subjects included 19 female dieters and 21 female nondieters. Following a randomized design, subjects were asked either to suppress (experimental condition) or express (control condition) the thought of weighing themselves.
Nondieters demonstrated a significant rebound in frequency of the target thought following suppression (p < .05). Dieters expressed weight-related thoughts more frequently than nondieters, but did not show a rebound following target thought suppression.
Thought suppression may foster development of weight-related preoccupations whereas the role suppression plays in the maintenance of dieters' weight-related preoccupations remains unclear.
Thought suppression frequently results in subsequent hyperaccessibility of the suppressed thoughts. This study investigated whether this effect transfers to behavior. Does suppressing thoughts result in a subsequent increase in the performance of behaviors related to those thoughts?
Twenty chocolate cravers and 22 noncravers were instructed to suppress chocolate-related thoughts in an articulated thoughts task or they were given no specific instructions. Participants then completed a computer-based task which yielded chocolate rewards.
Both cravers and noncravers could suppress chocolate-related thoughts when instructed to do so. Both groups of participants showed greater performance, and hence earned more chocolate, in the suppression than control condition (p < .05).
Behavioral control may follow many of the same ironic pathways traced by mental control.
Past research has shown that strong emotional or motivational states can cause normally restrained eaters to overeat. In this article it is argued that simple cognitive load can also disinhibit eating by restrained eaters. Two studies examined this disinhibition effect. In Study 1, restrained and unrestrained eaters were given the opportunity to consume high-calorie food while performing either a high cognitive-load or low cognitive-load task. Restrained eaters consumed more food when under high cognitive load than when under low cognitive load; unrestrained eaters showed the opposite pattern. Study 2 replicated the disinhibition effect and ruled out stress, diminished awareness of food consumption, and ironic rebound as probable mediators. Results suggest that cognitive load may disinhibit consumption by preventing restrained eaters from monitoring the dietary consequences of their eating behavior. Implications for theories of self-regulation are discussed.
A theory of psychological reactance Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control
- J W Brehm
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- J W Brehm
Brehm, J.W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. New York: Academic Press. Brehm, S., & Brehm, J.W. (1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control. New York: Academic Press.
Restraint scale: Assessment of dieting Strength of will
- J Polivy
- C P Herman
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Polivy, J., Herman, C.P., & Howard, K.I. (1988). Restraint scale: Assessment of dieting. In M. Hersen & A.S. Bellack (Eds.), Dictionary of behavioral assessment techniques (pp. 377–380). New York: Pergamon Press. Smart, L., & Wegner, D.M. (1996). Strength of will. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 79–83.
Mental control of eating: Excitatory and inhibitory food thoughts
- C P Herman
- J Polivy
Herman, C.P., & Polivy, J. (1993). Mental control of eating: Excitatory and inhibitory food thoughts. In D.M. Wegner & J.W. Pennebaker (Eds.), Handbook of mental control (pp. 491–505). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Johnston
- Harnden
Paradoxical effects of thought suppression
- Wegner D.M.,