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Nutritionists are well aware that people tend to underreport their weights, but psychologists still often rely on weight self-reports. The present paper reviews research on weight underreporting and attempts to identify its underlying motivations. Restrained eaters (and overweight individuals) are especially likely to underreport their weight. We examine potential reasons for such underreporting in these groups, including (1) perceptual biases that make people misperceive body weight; (2) an impression-management/self-presentation strategy (telling others that one has a more socially desirable weight); or (3) self-protection, with underreporting allowing one to protect self-esteem by convincing oneself that one is thinner than is really the case. The evidence indicates that overweight and restrained women underreport their weight in an attempt to protect themselves. The consistent and motivated underreporting of weight by restrained eaters not only illuminates their psychological functioning, but indicates a bias that may be problematic for research that relies on self-reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Does dietary restraint suppress or promote future weight gain? [•] A prospective study (3-year follow-up) in a representative Dutch sample. [•] Body mass change, Dietary restraint, Concern for Dieting and Weight Fluctuation. [•] Higher dietary restraint longitudinally predicted increases in BMI in females. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined the influence of expectancies about rewards from thinness (RFT) on unhealthy dieting. Females (N = 63) participated in a structured discussion about either the benefits or costs of dieting, and target attitudes and behaviors were assessed immediately and at 4-week follow-up. Results suggest that (1) outcome expectancies are important in one's decision to diet; (2) compared to unrestrained eaters, restrained eaters have elevated RFT expectancies; (3) RFT expectancies are amenable to change; and (4) modifying RFT expectancies can shift dieting attitudes and behaviors (participants in the negative expectancy condition had more accurate perceptions of healthy weight, reported intentions to diet less often and less strictly in the future, and made more liberal food choices in a subsequent meal situation). Implications for prevention of unrealistic expectations and unhealthy dieting behaviors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restrained and unrestrained eaters' attributions of success and failure to body weight were explored in two studies. Study 1 showed that when presented with statements attributing life outcomes to body weight, restrained eaters associated thinness with success significantly more than unrestrained eaters did, particularly in the professional and romantic areas of life. This study also showed that both groups assume a strong social consensus for their respective positions regarding the importance of thinness for social and personal success. However, in the case of romantic success, unrestrained eaters also assumed social consensus for the proposition that thinness is essential to romantic success, despite not agreeing with this proposition themselves. Study 2 showed that, when making attributions for the success or failure of a supposedly real woman, restrained eaters attributed her romantic success to thinness and her romantic failure to being overweight, whereas unrestrained eaters' attributions for success and failure remained uninfluenced by weight. Restrained eaters' consistent association of romantic success and thinness is discussed in terms of self-esteem and sociocultural influences. The social consensus estimates are further discussed in terms of their possible effect on dieting and eating pathology. These results also suggest that the widespread belief in a social consensus associating thinness and romantic success might be inaccurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examine the principal features of dieting using an evolutionary perspective, which sheds light on certain anomalies while raising other interesting questions. We focus on (a) the reasons that dieters give for dieting, (b) the difficulty of dieting, and (c) the apparent opposition between the proclivities toward self-indulgence and self-control. We propose that while self-indulgence and self-control both serve adaptive functions, these evolved tendencies are naturally triggered by different ecological challenges. Implications for dieting in an ecology of plenty are explored. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective The false-hope syndrome suggests that unrealistic expectations about dieting set dieters up for failure and then promote renewed efforts at weight loss. Many dieters believe the inflated promises typical of diet advertisements, which may be the source of at least some of their unrealistic expectations. Diet advertisements promoting unrealistic expectations were expected to inspire restrained eaters to diet and lead to enhanced self-perceptions, relative to more circumspect advertisements. Method Female undergraduates rated their expectations in response to a control advertisement or to advertisements containing realistic, moderately unrealistic, or highly unrealistic promises of dieting. Participants then rated their self-perceptions and participated in an apparent “taste-test”. Results Restrained eaters had higher expectations for themselves than did unrestrained eaters, and restrained and unrestrained eaters had similar expectations concerning dieting for others. Those who viewed the advertisements containing unrealistic expectations ate fewer cookies ad libitum than did those who viewed the realistic or control advertisements. Discussion This finding is consistent with the suggestion that unrealistic expectations contribute to the decision to change oneself. © 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effect of anticipated food deprivation on intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters. Participants were randomly assigned to a diet condition, in which they expected to diet for a week, or to a control (no-diet) condition. Immediately after being assigned to a condition, participants completed a taste-rating task in which food consumption was measured. Restrained eaters in the diet condition consumed significantly more food than did restrained eaters in the no-diet condition or unrestrained eaters in either condition. Unrestrained eaters consumed the same amount regardless of condition. These results confirm that merely planning to go on a diet can trigger overeating in restrained eaters, reflecting the dynamic connection between dieting and overeating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of self-perceived dieting ability on restrained eaters was tested in a study directly manipulating such sell-perceptions. The hypothesis that a dieter's perception of her own dieting ability would affect how she handled an acute challenge to her diet was tested by manipulating the restrained eater's view of themselves as good or bad dieters. Restrained and unrestrained subjects were given ad lib access to ice cream after either a high-calorie preload or no preload. As predicted, dieters induced to see themselves as "good" ate less after the preload than did dieters whose self-perception was not manipulated, but dieters who saw themselves as "bad" also reduced their intake. Over the next week, restrained subjects in general lost more weight, with those who had been led to focus on their dieting ability in the face of a challenge, being mainly responsible for this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to investigate the extent of caloric compensation to differential preloading among normally restrained and unrestrained female subjects. Subjects' eating was either explicitly observed or unobserved by the experimenter. Unrestrained eaters compensated appropriately for the preload, whether or not they were observed. Restrained eaters failed to compensate when unobserved , but compensated strongly when observed. A subsequent unobserved eating task revealed that restrained eaters failed to compensate for prior consumption when the observer was withdrawn. Implications for research and therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of a same-sex model on females' eating behavior. The model ate either a large or small quantity along with the subject in an ad lib satiation context, and either did or did not identify herself as a dieter. Subjects were 86 female undergraduates, split into normally dieting or nondieting subgroups. Number of sandwich quarters consumed ad lib following a small fixed preload was found to vary as a function of (a) model's consumption (b) model's dieter status and (c) subject's dieter status; there were no significant interactions. A subsequent taste-rating assessment of nut consumption, in which the model was present but could neither see nor be seen by the subject, indicated that the three factors which had previously affected sandwich consumption independently combined to affect nut consumption interdependently. The results were interpreted in terms of the effect of the model on the quantity and pattern of consumption, and conclusions were drawn about the dynamics of restrained and unrestrained eating and implications for therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory for weight-, food-, and appearance-related information was examined in female restrained and unrestrained college students and in female obese and eating-disordered patients, Subjects read an essay about another person and were later asked to recall the essay as completely as possible. As predicted, restrained students remembered more weight- and food-related items than appearance-related items in comparison to the unrestrained students. Similarly, the obese and anorexic patients recalled significantly more of the weight- and food-related items than the other items. In both samples, restraint scores were positively correlated with the frequency with which subjects mentioned weight and food in an "accessibility" task. The discussion focused on the implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on the previous issue of the periodical concerning the studies on calorie-restricting diets' long-term outcomes. They note that the authors definition of dieting emphasizes energy intake suppression below its normal level. They argue that an exercise regimen does not address the campaign against obesity, overeating in particular, but may improve health without necessarily lowering weight.

Presents a critical appraisal of realistic and unrealistic self-change efforts. Reasons behind the general failure of self change efforts; Assessment of success rates of dieting efforts by people; Appraisal of the possibility of self-change; Examples cited by authors in support of their view point from obesity related data in the U.S.

Abstract: In order to determine the effects of selective food restriction on subsequent food intake and cravings, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: carbohydrate-restriction, protein-restriction, or control (no restriction). Participants in the restriction conditions were asked to restrict their intake of either complex carbohydrates or animal proteins for 3 days, before coming to the laboratory for an experimental session. During the experimental session, participants’ food intake, cravings, and affect were measured. The results indicated that selective food restriction resulted in selective behavioural consequences. Specifically, carbohydrate-restricted participants consumed more of a high-carbohydrate food than did controls or protein-restrictors, in addition to reporting more cravings for high-carbohydrate foods over the restriction period. Protein-restricted participants reported more cravings for high-protein foods over the restriction period, in comparison to controls and carbohydrate-restrictors; however, protein-restricted participants did not consume more of the particular high-protein food presented to them in the laboratory. The roles of dietary restraint and negative affect in influencing cravings and food intake are discussed. Overall, selective food restriction is demonstrated to have negative psychological and behavioural consequences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Restrained and unrestrained eaters were weighted 5 lb (2.27 kg) heavier or 5 lb lighter than their actual weight or were not weighed at all. Unrestrained eaters and restrained eaters who were told they weighed 5 lb less were not affected by the false weight feedback. However, restrained eaters who were informed that they weighted 5 lb more reported lower self-esteem, less positive moods, and more negative moods than did restrained eaters in the other 2 conditions. Furthermore, restrained eaters who were led to believe that they weighed heavier ate significantly more food during a subsequent "taste test" than did each of the other groups. Restrained eaters who believed that they were heavier experienced lowered self-worth and a worsening of mood that led them to relinquish their dietary restraint and overindulge in available food. Implications for patients with eating disorders are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the research on the association between personality and dietary restraint as measured by commonly-used self-report assessment instruments (Restraint Scale, TFEQ, DEBQ, and EDE-Q). In order to expand our understanding of the potentially different types of dieters, we examine the different personality profiles that emerge from existing studies of restraint and personality, including associations between restraint and body dissatisfaction and body focus, self-esteem, neuroticism, sensation seeking, impulsivity, perfectionism and narcissism. This research provides some preliminary evidence that different measures of restraint are associated not only with different eating behaviours, but that they capture different personality profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]