Restraint, weight suppression, and self-report reliability: how much do you really weigh?
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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
1Department of Psychology, The University of Montana, Missoula 59812-1041, USA.
Abstract:
This study examined the effects of weight suppression on eating behaviors in a standard restraint ice cream taste-test paradigm. Participants were 58 female restrained eaters categorized by self-report as either high- or low-weight suppressors. Prior to the taste test, half of the participants received a milkshake preload. The amount of ice cream consumed during the taste test was the primary measure of interest. A 2 x 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated no significant differences between groups. This contradicts previously reported results in which restrained eaters consumed more following a preload than in the no-preload condition and provides further evidence that restraint is not a homogeneous construct. These results also question the use of self-report measures to determine an individual's level of weight suppression.
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