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Explanations for the Success and Failure of Dieting

  • Restraint Theory
  • Herman and Mack 1975
  • Research suggests that as many as 89% of the female population in the UK consciously restrain their food intake at some point in their lives (Klesges et al 1987). The Restraint Theory was developed as an attempt to explain both the causes and consequences associated with the cognitive restriction of food intake. Herman and Mack suggest that attempting not to eat actually increases the probability of overeating.
  • The Boundary Model
  • Herman and Polivy 1984
  • According to this model, hunger keeps intake of food above a certain minimum and satiety works to keep intake below a maximum level. Between the 2 levels, psychological factors have their greatest impact on consumption. Dieters tend to have a larger range between hunger and satiety levels as it takes them longer to feel hungry and more food to satisfy them. In addition, restrained eaters have a self-imposed desired intake. Once they have gone over this boundary model they continue to eat until they reach satiety i.e. beyond the maximum level imposed as part of their diet.
  • The Role of Denial
  • Research in cognitive psychology has shown that attempting to suppress or deny a thought frequently has the opposite effect, making it even more prominent. For example, Wegner et al asked participants not to think about a white bear but to ring a bell if they did think about the bear. Results showed that those told not to think about the bear rang their bells far more often than those told to think about the bear. Wegner 1994 refers to this as the ‘theory of ironic processes of mental control’ because it represents a paradoxical effect of thought control. i.e. denial often backfires.
  • The Theory of Ironic Processes of Mental Control
  • Often within a dieting strategy is the decision not to eat certain foods/ eat less of them. This results in a similar state of denial as the white bear example. According to this theory, therefore, attempts to suppress thoughts of food such as pizza or chocolate only serve to increase dieters preoccupation with the very foods they are trying to deny. Therefore as soon as the food is denied, it simultaneously becomes more attractive.
  • Evaluation:
  • There is supporting research for the theory of ironic processes of mental control explanation. Soetens et al (2006) conducted an experiment where participants were divided into restrained and unrestrained eaters, the restrained eaters were then divided into either high or low disinhibition. This disinhibited restrained group (those who tried to eat less but often over ate) used more thought suppression but also showed a rebound effect- they thought about it more. This shows that restrained eaters who tend to over eat try to supress food thoughts more often but this results in thinking about food more.
  • There are limitations to the restraint theory as an explanation for the failure of dieting. The theory proposes an associated between restriction and overeating, however this theory can not be applied to restrictive anorexics, their behaviour can not be explained, as if trying not to eat results in overeating, how is it that they starve themselves. (Ogden 2007)
  • Therefore the restraint theory can explain the behaviour of dieters, bulimic and some anorexics but not restrictive anorexics.
  • Research on this topic is culturally biased and may not give a full and accurate representation of why people succeed or fail at dieting. Research in this area is culturally biased because some cultural groups find it harder to diet successfully because of a natural inclination to obesity. For example, Asian adults are more prone to obesity than Europeans (Park et al 2001). Likewise, there is evidence that Asian children and adolescents have a greater central fat mass when compared with Europeans and other ethnic groups (Misra et al 2007). The research is also mainly anecdotal evidence; they rely on the personal accounts of individuals. The evidence is used to justify claims of dieting strategies however; this type of evidence has many limitations that a conducted study may not. For example, its probable that memory is not always 100% meaning that the findings and conclusions as a result wont have high levels of accuracy. This creates problems of reliability and means that the supporting evidence could be considered questionable.

Explanations for the Success and Failure of Dieting- Essay Plan

AO1

Restraint Theory

  • 82% of females will restrict food intake at some point in life. KLESGES ET AL 1987
  • Restraint theory developed to explain both causes and consequences of restricting food intake.
  • HERMAN AND MACK 1975
  • Suggest that attempting not to eat= increase in likelihood of overeating

The Boundary Model

  • HERMAN AND POLIVY 1984
  • Hunger: intake of food above a minimum
  • Satiety: keeps intake below a maximum
  • Between the levels, psychological factors have the greatest impact on consumption.
  • Dieters have a larger range, longer to feel hungry but more food to satisfy

The Role of Denial

  • Attempting to suppress or deny a thought has the opposite effect.
  • WEGNER ET AL 1994, asked p’s not to think about a white bear, asked others to think about it, ring a bell if they did.
  • Results: those asked not to, rang the bell more than the others
  • Referred to as ‘theory of ironic mental control.’- a paradoxical effect

The Theory of Ironic Processes of Mental Control

  • Attempts to suppress thoughts of food increase preoccupation with that food they are avoiding.
  • Therefore, when food is denied: it becomes more attractive.

AO2

P: Supporting research- theory of ironic processing

E: SOETENS ET AL 2006– p’s divided, restrained and unrestrained eaters, then the restrained eaters divided into either high or low disinhibition. Disinhibited restrained group (tried to eat less but over ate) used thought suppression more, showed a rebound effect- they thought about it more

E: shows- restrained eaters who tend to overeat, when supressing thoughts, think about food more.

P: Drawbacks to the restraint theory

E: RT proposes an association between restriction and over eating. How does this explain restrictive anorexics? OGDEN 2007

E: Therefore cannot fully explain eating behaviour.