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

P J Morgan1, D B Jeffrey

  • 1Department of Psychology, The University of Montana, Missoula 59812-1041, USA.

Addictive Behaviors
|November 26, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Weight suppression did not significantly affect eating behaviors in restrained female eaters during an ice cream taste test. This suggests restraint is not uniform and questions self-report weight suppression measures.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Behavioral Science
  • Nutrition Science

Background:

  • Weight suppression, the difference between a person's lowest adult weight and current weight, is thought to influence eating behaviors.
  • Restrained eaters, individuals who consciously restrict their food intake, may be particularly susceptible to weight suppression effects.
  • Previous research suggests a link between weight suppression and altered eating patterns, but findings are not always consistent.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of weight suppression on the eating behaviors of female restrained eaters.
  • To examine whether a milkshake preload moderates the relationship between weight suppression and subsequent food consumption.
  • To explore the homogeneity of dietary restraint as a construct.

Main Methods:

  • A taste-test paradigm using ice cream was employed with 58 female restrained eaters.
  • Participants were categorized as high or low weight suppressors based on self-report.
  • A 2x2 between-subjects design included a milkshake preload or no preload condition.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in ice cream consumption were found between high and low weight suppressors.
  • The preload condition did not significantly alter ice cream intake in either weight suppression group.
  • These findings contrast with prior studies showing preload effects in restrained eaters.

Conclusions:

  • Dietary restraint may not be a monolithic construct, as weight suppression did not predictably influence eating behavior in this sample.
  • The study questions the reliability of self-report measures for accurately assessing an individual's degree of weight suppression.
  • Further research is needed to clarify the complex interplay between weight suppression, dietary restraint, and eating behaviors.

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