138 Dieting
described their dieting behavior in terms of the impact on their family life,
a preoccupation with food and weight, and changes in mood. However,
the concept of self-control pervades these themes. For example, when describ-
ing how she had prepared a meal for her family, one woman said, “I did
not want to give in, but I felt that after preparing a three course meal for
everyone else, the least I could do was enjoy my efforts.” The sense of not
giving in suggests an attempt to impose control over her eating. In terms
of the preoccupation with food, one woman said, “Why should I deprive
myself of nice food?” and another said, “Now that I’ve eaten that I might
as well give in to all the drives to eat.” Such statements again illustrate a
sense of the importance of self-control and a feeling that eating reflects a
breakdown in this control. In terms of mood, one woman said that she
was “depressed that something as simple as eating cannot be controlled.”
Likewise this role of self-control was also apparent in the women’s negative
descriptions of themselves, with one woman saying, “I’m just totally hope-
less and weak, and though I hate being fat I just don’t have the willpower
to do anything about it.”
In summary, restraint theory indicates that dieting is linked with
overeating, and research inspired by this perspective has explored the pro-
cesses involved in triggering this behavior. Studies have used experimen-
tal and descriptive designs and suggest a role for physiological boundaries,
cognitive shifts, mood modification, denial, a shift in self-awareness, and
control. These are illustrated in figure 7.7.
The Consequences of Dieting
Dieting sometimes leads to overeating. Research has also explored the con-
sequences of dieting in terms of mood and cognitive state, and weight.
Dieting and mood and cognitive stateThe first work to illustrate a relationship between food restriction and mood
and cognitive state was a study by Keys et al. in 1950. The study involved
36 healthy nondieting men who were conscientious objectors from the Korean
War. They received a carefully controlled daily food intake of approximately
half their normal intake for a period of 12 weeks, and consequently lost
25 percent of their original body weight. Keys stated that they developed
a preoccupation with food often resulting in hoarding or stealing it. They