Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

An evolutionary perspective on dieting.

Janet Polivy1, C Peter Herman

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. jpolivy@utm.utoronto.ca

Appetite
|June 30, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Pathways to improved treatment of anorexia nervosa: a need for reconceptualization.

Journal of eating disorders·2026
Same author

Evidence of a self-serving bias in people's attributions for their food intake.

Appetite·2024
Same author

Influence of social-normative information on the modeling of food-related decisions.

Appetite·2022
Same author

Distinguishing dieting from restrained eating: A rejoinder to Lowe (2021).

Appetite·2021
Same author

What is restrained eating and how do we identify it?

Appetite·2020
Same author

Modeling of food intake among restrained and unrestrained eaters.

Appetite·2020
Same journal

Food Noise: Conceptual, Methodological, and Ethical Considerations.

Appetite·2026
Same journal

Capabilities, Opportunities, and Motivations Influencing Young People's Sustainable and Healthy Food-Related Behaviours: A Systematic Review.

Appetite·2026
Same journal

Bidirectional associations between fathers' food parenting practices and children's dietary intake.

Appetite·2026
Same journal

Associations between child temperament, weight status, and snack food consumption in a diverse sample of young children.

Appetite·2026
Same journal

Hedonic and practicality beliefs form a behaviour-proximal core associated with red and processed meat intake: An attitude network analysis.

Appetite·2026
Same journal

Why we eat: Development and validation of a 7-factor Motivations for Eating Profile (MEP-7).

Appetite·2026
See all related articles

Dieting challenges arise from evolved self-indulgence and self-control tendencies, which served different ancestral ecological needs. Understanding these evolutionary roots may explain dieting difficulties in modern environments.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary psychology
  • Behavioral science
  • Nutritional science

Background:

  • Dieting is a common behavior with significant challenges.
  • Existing explanations for dieting difficulties are incomplete.
  • An evolutionary perspective offers novel insights into human dietary behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze dieting from an evolutionary viewpoint.
  • To investigate dieters' motivations and the struggles they face.
  • To explore the interplay between self-indulgence and self-control in dieting.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis integrating evolutionary theory with dieting behavior.
  • Examination of adaptive functions of self-indulgence and self-control.
  • Exploration of ecological triggers for these evolved tendencies.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Dieting anomalies are illuminated by an evolutionary lens.
  • Self-indulgence and self-control have distinct adaptive origins.
  • These evolved traits are context-dependent, triggered by different environmental cues.

Conclusions:

  • Dieting difficulties may stem from mismatched evolved tendencies in modern environments.
  • An 'ecology of plenty' presents unique challenges for evolved self-regulatory mechanisms.
  • Further research is needed to understand evolutionary implications for effective dieting strategies.