Considering alternative calculations of weight suppression

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Eating Disorder Research

Background:

• Weight suppression (WS) is theorized to relate to eating pathology and weight gain.
• Existing methods for calculating WS have methodological limitations.
• The clinical significance of WS requires further investigation into its measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate four alternative methods for calculating weight suppression.
• To determine if different WS calculation methods yield differential associations with maladaptive outcomes.
• To clarify the relationship between WS and eating pathology, considering measurement variations.

Main Methods:

• Employed a sample of 631 undergraduate students.
• Utilized self-report measures including the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire and Perceptions of Teasing Scale.
• Calculated WS using traditional methods and four alternative approaches: change in BMI units, BMI category change, percent weight change, and regression residuals.

Main Results:

• The traditional WS calculation method correlated with eating pathology, binge eating, and teasing in both males and females.
• WS indices independent of highest weight did not correlate with eating pathology or teasing.
• For females, WS indices independent of current weight also showed no association with eating pathology.

Conclusions:

• The association between weight suppression and eating pathology appears to be influenced by the method of calculation.
• Accounting for an individual's highest weight may mitigate the observed link between WS and eating pathology.
• Future research should explore the reliability and clinical utility of alternative WS calculation methods.