The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior

An Integrated Model of Diet 281

• Not eating and thinness can be used to express problems within the
  family.


• The symptoms of eating disorders can function to keep the family together
  and avoid family conflict.

Cognitions

An individual’s thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes are described throughout
the literature on eating behavior.

• From a social-cognition perspective, an individual’s beliefs about food
  contribute towards their intentions to eat a particular diet, which in turn
  affects their eating behavior.


• Individuals hold a range of beliefs about the meaning of food.


• Individuals also hold a range of beliefs about the meaning of body size
  and shape.


• People believe that body shape can be changed and that dieting can bring
  about weight loss.


• Beliefs that dieting is an “all-or-nothing” phenomenon may contribute
  towards overeating.


• Overeating may be triggered by shifts in a cognitive set, with eating being
  either a passive behavior or an active rebellion against food deprivation.


• Many people show negative stereotypes of the obese and the overweight.


• People hold beliefs about obesity. Such beliefs may contribute towards
  the success of obesity treatment.


• Obesity treatment focuses on changing beliefs about food as a means
  to change behavior. In particular it uses cognitive restructuring.


• Distorted cognitions about weight, shape, and food may contribute to
  the cause and perpetuation of disordered eating.


• Treatment for eating disorders challenges distorted cognitions using
  Socratic questions.

Conflict

Eating behavior relates to many different conflicts. These conflicts both
contribute to and result from eating-related problems.

• Food sets up a conflict between the pleasure of eating and the subsequent
  guilt.