Eating order: a 13-week trust model class for dieting casualties

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Nutrition Education
• Public Health

Background:

• Chronic dieting negatively impacts eating behaviors and contributes to weight gain.
• Desperation for weight loss often leads individuals to pursue extreme measures.
• Existing approaches often fail to address the underlying issues of disordered eating.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the "Eating Order" class for chronic dieters.
• To assess improvements in eating attitudes, behaviors, body image, and self-esteem.
• To explore a Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned intervention for disordered eating.

Main Methods:

• A 13-week "Eating Order" class was implemented, based on Satter's How to Eat protocol.
• The intervention was framed within a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach.
• Participants included 36 women identified as chronic dieters.

Main Results:

• The "Eating Order" class demonstrated success in improving eating attitudes and behaviors.
• Significant positive changes were observed in participants' body image and self-esteem.
• Improvements were noted regardless of the initial severity of eating disturbance or weight.

Conclusions:

• The "Eating Order" program is an effective model for nutrition educators to help chronic dieters.
• This approach offers a promising alternative to traditional dieting for weight management.
• The practice model has potential to mitigate societal weight escalation and intergenerational eating/weight struggles.