278 An Integrated Model of Diet
intentions which in turn predict behavior. Important beliefs include
behavioral control, subjective norms, and attitudes. The third perspective
emphasizes an individual’s physiology. Such an approach highlights the role
for neurochemicals in hunger and satiety, chemical senses in food prefer-
ences, the psychophysiological responses to certain food, and the role of
stress in eliciting food intake or food avoidance. These three perspectives
are essential to understanding eating behavior. However, although at times
they place the individual within their social context, they neglect the com-
plex meanings associated with food and body shape and therefore cannot
explain why food intake is so unpredictable and why it is associated with
so many problems.
Food plays a central role within any culture and is loaded with a mul-
titude of meanings. For example, it can express self-identity in terms of
gender, sexuality, conflicts, and self-control. It can act as a form of social
interaction and communicate love, power, and conflicts concerning health
and pleasure; it can also communicate cultural norms in the form of reli-
gion or social power, and can delineate culture and nature. Body size is also
associated with a range of meanings. For example, in Western culture while
obesity means unattractiveness, lethargy, a lack of self-control, and low
status, thinness means success, psychological stability, and control. Given
this range of meanings, food choice becomes complex, as the decision to
eat or not eat is influenced by the meaning of food and the meaning of
any potential changes in body size. In line with this, many people show
weight concern in the form of body dissatisfaction. In particular, many
women are dissatisfied with their body size and shape; this may come from
social factors such as the media, ethnicity, class, and the family which are
translated into body dissatisfaction via a range of beliefs and the need for
control. For many, body dissatisfaction results in dieting which, although
aimed at eating less, often leads to overeating, weight variability, and weight
gain. Explanations of the association between dieting and overeating have
focused on the role of boundaries, mood, cognitions, and a reaction to denial.
Weight concern in the form of body dissatisfaction and dieting illustrate
eating-related problems which affect a majority of the population. Although
they often cause lowered mood and self-esteem and may trigger overeat-
ing, for the majority they do not have clinically significant consequences.
The problems of body dissatisfaction and weight concern illustrate how
attempting to eat a healthy diet is more complicated than simply knowing
what is healthy, and how the meanings associated with food and size can
undermine any good intentions.