{"title":"Dietary Restraint Fallacy.","authors":"Anita Jansen","doi":"10.1002/eat.24354","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For decades, the prevailing assumption in the field of eating disorders has been that dietary restraint causes weight gain and eating disorder symptoms, like binge eating. This belief resulted in widespread recommendations to reduce dietary restraint in treatments of eating disorders and obesity. However, recent findings by Grilo and Pittman (2024; International Journal of Eating Disorders xxx:xxxx-xxxx) contradict this view, showing reduced binge frequency and greater weight loss with increased rigid dietary restraint. This commentary critically evaluates the evidence supporting a causal link between dietary restraint and overeating, highlighting the limitations of longitudinal and observational studies and the misinterpretations of early laboratory research. Importantly, randomized controlled trials and experiments that directly manipulate calorie intake show that calorie restriction improves eating control and reduces eating disorder symptoms. Conceptual issues are discussed; self-reported dietary restraint is not an accurate reflection of actual calorie restriction. It is argued that cognitive processes like learned food cue reactivity, weak executive skills and increased reward sensitivity can explain tendencies to overeat. They are usually followed by attempts to restrain food intake-essentially reverse causality. It is further hypothesized that the eating of healthy whole foods while avoiding unhealthy ultra-processed foods, could benefit both the prevention and treatment of all eating and weight disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":51067,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Eating Disorders","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Eating Disorders","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24354","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NUTRITION & DIETETICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
For decades, the prevailing assumption in the field of eating disorders has been that dietary restraint causes weight gain and eating disorder symptoms, like binge eating. This belief resulted in widespread recommendations to reduce dietary restraint in treatments of eating disorders and obesity. However, recent findings by Grilo and Pittman (2024; International Journal of Eating Disorders xxx:xxxx-xxxx) contradict this view, showing reduced binge frequency and greater weight loss with increased rigid dietary restraint. This commentary critically evaluates the evidence supporting a causal link between dietary restraint and overeating, highlighting the limitations of longitudinal and observational studies and the misinterpretations of early laboratory research. Importantly, randomized controlled trials and experiments that directly manipulate calorie intake show that calorie restriction improves eating control and reduces eating disorder symptoms. Conceptual issues are discussed; self-reported dietary restraint is not an accurate reflection of actual calorie restriction. It is argued that cognitive processes like learned food cue reactivity, weak executive skills and increased reward sensitivity can explain tendencies to overeat. They are usually followed by attempts to restrain food intake-essentially reverse causality. It is further hypothesized that the eating of healthy whole foods while avoiding unhealthy ultra-processed foods, could benefit both the prevention and treatment of all eating and weight disorders.
期刊介绍:
Articles featured in the journal describe state-of-the-art scientific research on theory, methodology, etiology, clinical practice, and policy related to eating disorders, as well as contributions that facilitate scholarly critique and discussion of science and practice in the field. Theoretical and empirical work on obesity or healthy eating falls within the journal’s scope inasmuch as it facilitates the advancement of efforts to describe and understand, prevent, or treat eating disorders. IJED welcomes submissions from all regions of the world and representing all levels of inquiry (including basic science, clinical trials, implementation research, and dissemination studies), and across a full range of scientific methods, disciplines, and approaches.