Success & Failure of Dieting

Question 1

What are the 3 basic forms of dieting?

Answer 1

1) Restricting total amount of food
2) Refraining from eating certain types of food
3) Avoiding eating for long periods of time

Question 2

What is dieting?

Answer 2

Form of restricted eating involving the voluntary restriction of food intake

Question 3

Outline dieting in evolutionary terms

Answer 3

May have been adaptive because it would have had an adaptive value in times of food scarcity

Question 4

Outline Bartlett (03)

Answer 4

USA statistics: over 50% are obese or overweight and there are 300,000 deaths a year credited to preventable weight-related conditions

Question 5

How did Wing & Hill (01) define how successful dieting is and how many actually succeed in this?

Answer 5

‘Successful long-term weight loss maintenance, involving the intentional loss of at least 10% of initial body weight and keeping it off for at least one year’
20% succeed in doing this

Question 6

What percentage of women have tried to diet in the UK?

Answer 6

89%

Question 7

Who came up with the restraint theory?

Answer 7

Herman & Mack (75)

Question 8

Summarise restraint theory

Answer 8

Attempting to not eat actually increases the probability of overeating

Question 9

What did Herman & Polivy (84) come up with?

Answer 9

The boundary model

Question 10

Who came up with the boundary model?

Answer 10

Herman & Polivy (84)

Question 11

Explain the boundary model

Answer 11

Created to explain why dieting may lead to overeating - hunger keeps intake of food above a certain minimum - satiety works to keep intake below some maximum level - between the 2 levels, psychological factors have the greatest impact on consumption - dieters tend to have larger range between hunger and satiety levels as it takes them longer to feel hungry and more food to satisfy them - in addition, restrained eaters have self-imposed desired intake - one over this boundary, continue to eat until they reach satiety (beyond the max level imposed as part of their diet)

Question 12

What does satiety mean?

Answer 12

Satisfaction of hunger

Question 13

What study provides support for restraint theory?

Answer 13

Wardle & Beale (88)

Question 14

Outline Wardle & Beale (88)

Answer 14

Randomly assigned 27 obese women to either diet group (focusing on restrained eating patterns), an exercise group or a non-treatment group for 7 weeks - week 4, food intake and appetite assessed before and after a preload (small snack) - week 6, food intake assessed under stressful conditions - results showed both assessment sessions, women in diet condition ate more than women in exercise and non-treatment groups - thus implying overeating caused by dieting itself

Question 15

How did Herman & Polivy (84) explain common failure of dieting?

Answer 15

Dieters could not be bothered to maintain dieting as too much effort - suggests a cognitive shift in thinking involving breakdown of self-control

Question 16

What did Herman & Polivy find about the effect of mood on dieting behaviour?

Answer 16

Dieters overeat to shift responsibility for negative moods onto eating behaviour

Question 17

What did Ogden (03) say about the effect of having a list of ‘forbidden foods’?

Answer 17

The more they try to suppress thoughts, the more preoccupied they become with them - suggests denial actually creates more pressure to break up a diet

Question 18

How do slimming clubs deal with the problem of ‘forbidden foods’?

Answer 18

By allowing dieters to have specific number of them or these forbidden foods in small amounts - having them in moderation

Question 19

Outline Keys (50)

Answer 19

Conscientious war objectors were given half of their normal daily food intake for 12 weeks and on average they lost about 25% of their body weight - they became so obsessed with food they hoarded or even stole it, thinking of little else - suggests restrained thinking leads to alteration in cognitive state

Question 20

Name the 2 aspects of the success and failure of dieting

Answer 20

1) Restraint theory

2) The role of denial

Question 21

Name 2 positive evaluative points for restraint theory

Answer 21

1) Research support

2) Implications for obesity treatment

Question 22

Explain the implications for obesity treatment for restraint theory

Answer 22

The theory suggests restraint leads to excess, yet treatment of obesity commonly recommends restraint as solution to excessive weight gain - however, failed attempts to diet can leave obese individuals depressed, feeling a failure and unable to control their weight - although obesity may not necessarily be caused by overeating, overeating may be a consequence of obesity if restraint is recommended as a treatment

Question 23

Name and explain the main negative evaluative point about restraint theory

Answer 23

Methodological techniques are lab-based and artificial so little relevance to real-life behaviour - studies use self-monitoring and find that some dieters often do eat less than unrestrained eaters

Question 24

Summarise the role of denial

Answer 24

Research has shown attempting to suppress or deny a though frequently has the opposite effect, making it even more prominent

Question 25

Outline Wegner (87)

Answer 25

Asked some ppts not think abot white bear but to ring a bell if thy did, and others to think about a white bear - those told not to think about the bear rang their bells far more often than ppts instructed to think about the bear

Question 26

What does Wegner (94) refer this phenomenon of the role of denial as?

Answer 26

The theory of ironic processes of mental control

Question 27

Why is it called the theory of ironic processes of mental control?

Answer 27

It represents a paradoxical effect of thought control

Question 28

Outline the theory of ironic processes of mental control

Answer 28

Central to any dieting strategy is the decision not to eat certain foods or eat less of them - results in a similar state of denial as dieters try to suppress thoughts about foods they are trying to deny themselves - as soon as food is denied therefore, it simultaneously becomes more attractive

Question 29

Name a positive evaluative point for the role of denial

Answer 29

Research support with Soetens (06)

Question 30

Outline Soetens (06)

Answer 30

Ppts divided into restrained and unrestrained eaters - restrained group were then subdivided into those who were either high or low on disinhibition - the disinhibited restrained group (those who tried to eat less but who would often overeat) used more thought suppression than other groups and also showed rebound effect (thought more about food) afterwards - shows restrained eaters who tend to overeat try to suppress thoughts about food more often, but when they do, think more about food afterwards

Question 31

Name a negative evaluative point about the role of denial

Answer 31

Wegner (94) admits ironic effects observed are not particularly huge - detectable but far from overwhelming

Question 32

Explain the mistakes dieters typically make causing their efforts to fail

Answer 32

Diets are unsustainable and dieters set too big challenges with too few calories which can only be sustained short term - so dieters usually have unrealistic ideas - often the case they have large initial weight loss but then levels off so this is seen as less reinforcing - diet may cause lack of energy and dizziness so loss of motivation

Question 33

What is ghrelin’s role in the failure of dieting?

Answer 33

It stimulates the appetite making hungry people even hungrier during dieting as body tries to address weight loss by increasing the physiological desire to eat - therefore increasing the chances of abandonment

Question 34

Name 4 studies relating to the long term failure of diets

Answer 34

1) Jeffery (00)
2) Cummings (02)
3) Williams (02)
4) D’anci (08)

Question 35

Outline Jeffery (00)

Answer 35

Factors like motivation loss and social pressure have negative influences

Question 36

Outline Cummings (02)

Answer 36

Low-calorie diets increase ghrelin production by 24% reducing chances of weight loss

Question 37

Outline Williams (02)

Answer 37

Lacking concentration as lose focus on targets and strategies so cognitive factors play a role

Question 38

Outline D’anci (08)

Answer 38

Low carb diets have cognitive effect, reducing glycogen levels hence lack of concentration so biological factors have a part in affecting

Question 39

Explain relapse prevention

Answer 39

Seems a good strategy of maintaining loss - achieving a stable energy balance around the new lower weight, learning to identify a situation in which lapses could occur and how to refocus

Question 40

How can operant conditioning be used by dieters to keep themselves on track?

Answer 40

Have rewards acting as positive reinforcements to condition desired weight loss effect - for example reward themselves with clothes to fit their new body shape - also use social networking provides support during weight loss - social learning in terms of providing successful role models

Question 41

How can advice from health professionals help dieters to succeed?

Answer 41

Setting series of short term goals and avoid setting unrealistic targets - must set clear, objectively defined path to maintain motivation - regular monitoring and feedback with necessary readjustments being made

Question 42

Outline Redden (08)

Answer 42

Success lies in attention we pay to what is being eaten - people usually like experiences less as they repeat them so makes harder to stick to particular regime when dieting - so instead of thinking not another salad, should focus on details of the meal - by focusing on details, get bored less easily and so are better able to maintain diet

Question 43

What experiment supports Redden (08)?

Answer 43

The jelly-beans experiment

Question 44

Outline the jelly-beans experiment

Answer 44

Gave 135 ppts 22 jelly beans each, one at a time - as each dispensed, info about it on screen - one group saw general info (bean number 7) and other group saw specific flavours - ppts got bored (eating beans faster) if saw general info and enjoyed task more if saw specific flavour - application in real-life?

Question 45

Outline Thomas & Stern (95)

Answer 45

Financial incentives do not promote significant weight loss - found creating group contracts for loss some success most likely because of support from others in the group

Question 46

What are the 2 psychological factors accounting for the success of WeightWatchers?

Answer 46

1) Social support that members offer to each other

2) Goal setting

Question 47

Outline Miller-Kovack (01)

Answer 47

Social support methods like WeightWatchers are superior to individual regimes over 2 years which suggests social networking is good

Question 48

Outline Lowe (04)

Answer 48

71.6% of WeightWatchers members maintained weight loss of at least 5% suggesting social support is not only good for losing weight but maintaining also

Question 49

Outline Bartlett (03)

Answer 49

Best with target of reducing calorific intake of 500-1000 calories a day resulting in a loss of 1-2 pounds a week suggesting achievable goal setting is important

Question 50

Outline Wing & Hill (01)

Answer 50

Common behaviours in weight loss and maintenance is:
Low-fat diet
Constant self-monitoring of intake and weight
Increased physical activity

Question 51

Outline Nolen-Hoeksema (02)

Answer 51

Found females low-fat diets develop negative moods which they address by overeating - 80% of these develop clinical depression with 5years - suggests diets can lead to a mental disorder

Question 52

Name 3 negative evaluative points about research into the success and failure of dieting

Answer 52

1) Individual differences
2) Ethics
3) Limitations of anecdotal evidence

Question 53

Explain individual differences in the success and failure of dieting

Answer 53

Low restrainers find it easy - Mesink (08) high restrainers are hypersensitive to food cues and more likely to abandon diet - Stirling (04) found high-restrainers not able to resist forbidden chocolate but not known as to whether being low/high innate or learned

Question 54

Explain the ethics of the success and failure of dieting

Answer 54

Types of research that can be carried out in looking at eating behaviour is restricted because of ethics involved so most research uses self-report, not necessarily valid

Question 55

Explain limitations of anecdotal evidence for the success and failure of dieting

Answer 55

Many studies rely on personal accounts of individuals - anecdotal evidence - this evidence is often used to justify claims concerning particular dieting strategies - however there are a number of problems scientific studies do not have - main limitation is memory not 100% accurate, nor is assessment of success or failure of dieting entirely objective which creates problems for reliability of evidence

Question 56

Name a positive evaluative point for the success and failure of dieting

Answer 56

Findings from eating behaviour research will hopefully lead to identification of successful dieting

Question 57

Name 4 IDA points for the success and failure of dieting

Answer 57

1) Gender-biased
2) Culturally-biased
3) Free will or determinism
4) Formation of effective diets

Question 58

Explain how the success and failure of dieting is gender-biased

Answer 58

Focus of females so generalisability issues - some dieting leads to negative consequences, mainly in females such as anorexia - but, 15% of those suffer from anorexia are male - so important to understand male behaviour also when looking at eating behaviour

Question 59

Explain how the success and failure of dieting is culturally-biased

Answer 59

Some cultural groups find it harder to diet successfully because of natural inclination to obesity - for example Asian adults are more prone to obesity than Europeans

Question 60

Explain free will or determinism for the success and failure of dieting

Answer 60

Likely that number of genetic mechanisms have an influence on weight, suggesting the success and failure of dieting determined by factors other than an individual’s choice of lifestyle - one gene codes for LPL which is an enzyme produced by fat cells to help store calories as fat - if too much LPL, body especially efficient at storing calories - LPL also makes it easier to regain lost weight - Kern (90) 9 people lost average of 90 pounds had LPL levels measured before dieting and again 3 months later - levels increased after weight loss, and the fatter the person was to start with, the higher the LPL levels were - believed weight loss activated gene producing enzyme, might explain why easier for dieter to regain lost weight than for someone who has never been obese to put weight on

Question 61

Explain how the success and failure of dieting can lead to the formation of an effective diet

Answer 61

When applied properly, findings can lead to long term effectiveness in weight stabilisation - such success can be measured in terms of heightened psychological well-being and reduced costs to the health services