Dieting 143Dieting and undereatingRestrained eating aims to reduce food intake, and several studies have found
that at times this aim is successful. Some research has used an experimental
methodology. For example, Thompson, Palmer, and Petersen (1988) used
a preload/taste-test methodology to examine restrained eaters’ eating
behavior, and reported that the restrained eaters consumed fewer calories
than the unrestrained eaters after both the low- and high-calorie preloads.
Similarly, Dritschel, Cooper, and Charnock (1993) examined eating behavior
in the laboratory following a preload and concluded that their results pro-
vided no support for the counterregulatory behavior described as charac-
teristic of dieters. Similar results have also been reported by van Strien, Cleven,
and Schippers (2000) and Oliver, Wardle, and Gibson (2000). Therefore,
some studies using an experimental design indicate that dieters’ attempts
to eat less can be successful. Other research has used more naturalistic
methods. For example, Kirkley, Burge, and Ammerman (1988) assessed the
eating style of 50 women using 4-day dietary self-monitoring forms, and
reported that the restrained eaters consumed fewer calories than the unre-
strained eaters. Laessle et al. (1989) also used food diaries and found that
the restrained eaters consumed around 400 kcal less than the unrestrained
eaters, with the restrained eaters specifically avoiding food items of high
carbohydrate and fat content. Furthermore, Stice (1998) used a longitudinal
method to explore the relationship between restrained eating and overeat-
ing at follow-up. The results showed that once the temporal stability of the
measures had been controlled for, restrained eating did not predict over-
eating. In fact, the reverse relationship was true. Overeating at baseline
predicted future levels of restrained eating. Some studies, therefore, show
that restrained eating can result in overeating. Other studies using similar
methodologies indicate that restrained eaters can eat less and be successful
in their attempts to lose weight. It has been argued that such contradic-
tions in the literature highlight problems with restraint theory, as the
restrained eaters in these studies did not show the predicted overeating
(Charnock, 1989; Cooper and Charnock, 1990). Other researchers have
argued that such episodes of undereating are in line with restraint theory
if restrained eating is considered to result in both under- and overeating
(Polivy and Herman, 1989). This debate has generated an analysis of the
measures used to assess dietary restraint and an assessment of the complexity
of dieting behavior.