Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Food cravings mediate the relationship between rigid, but not flexible control of eating behavior and dieting success
Adrian Meule1, Joachim Westenhöfer, Andrea Kübler
1Department of Psychology I, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany. adrian.meule@uni-wuerzburg.de
Abstract:
Both food cravings and rigid dietary control strategies have been implicated in low dieting success while flexible control often is associated with successful weight loss. An online survey was conducted (N=616) to test the mediational role of food cravings between dietary control strategies and self-perceived dieting success. Food cravings fully mediated the inverse relationship between rigid control and dieting success. Contrarily, flexible control predicted dieting success independently of food cravings, which were negatively associated with dieting success. Differential mechanisms underlie the relationship between rigid and flexible control of eating behavior and dieting success.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Regulation
Regulation of Food Intake
Binge Eating Disorders
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Self-Schemas
Bulimia Nervosa

