Try not to think about food: An association between fasting, binge eating and food cravings.

Background: When individuals follow a diet or limit their food intake, they activate cognitive restraint, which is defined as a mental effort to restrict dietary behavior with the goal of losing weight. As an example, fasting has also been associated with the recruitment of cognitive restraint, but further research is needed to fully understand its underlying mechanisms.
Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the duration of fasting and disordered eating, such as food cravings, binge eating, and potential changes in eating habits.
Methods: An online survey was conducted among 853 first-semester university students to investigate their fasting practices and frequency over a three-month period prior to data collection. Participants who were on diets were excluded (n=214). After controlling the sample for biases, a comparison was made between 89 fasters and 369 non-fasters. The study compared levels of cognitive restraint, binge eating, food cravings, and consumption of 'forbidden' foods. A Poisson model was used to examine the association between hours of fasting and disordered eating traits. In the context of this study, the rate ratio was used to examine the relationship between fasting hours and disordered eating characteristics, such as binge eating and food cravings.
Results: The study found that fasters experienced an increase in food cravings and binge eating. However, fasters consumed fewer bread slices than non-fasters. The rate ratio of fasting hours practiced is 115% higher among binge eaters (RR 2.15; CI95% 1.70-2.73) compared to those who did not binge. The rate ratio of fasting hours is 29% higher in participants with moderate binge eating (RR 1.29; CI95% 1.05-1.59), increasing to 140% (RR 2.40; CI95% 1.86-3.11) in people with severe binge eating. As for food cravings (state), the rate ratio was 2% higher (RR 1.02; CI 95% 1.01-1.03) for each increase in the unit of the scale.
Conclusions: Our study has indicated that fasting is positively associated with increased levels of binge eating and food cravings.
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