Dietary restraint and fatness in early adolescent girls and boys

doi:10.1006/jado.1994.1015

Journal of Adolescence

Volume 17, Issue 2, April 1994, Pages 149-161

https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1994.1015 Get rights and content

Abstract

Dietary restraint (DR) has been identified in children as young as nine-years-old. This has caused concern because of its association with body dissatisfaction, threat to nutritional status and function as a risk factor for more serious eating disorders. Although social pressures to be slim have been implicated, little is known about the factors or mechanisms involved in the onset and development of DR. This study investigated the degree to which actual fatness and/or greater body dimensions might provide a stimulus for dietary restraint in children. Subjects were 61 boys and 65 girls aged 11·3 ± 0·31 years, who were in the first year of a longitudinal paediatric project. Measures of anthropometric status, physical maturity, dietary restraint, perceived fatness and appearance where used in the analysis. DR was not significantly different (p < 0·05) for boys (M = 2·29 ± 0·77) and girls (M = 2·42 ± 0·67). High DR boys were heavier (42 vs. 35 kg), fatter (sum of skinfolds 108 vs. 64 mm) and had larger waist and hip circumferences due to fat deposition than low DR boys (p < 0·05). High DR girls were also heavier (42 vs. 36 kg) and fatter than low DR girls (ss = 108 vs. 76 mm), with larger waists and hips. Increased body fatness and girth are therefore associated with greater dietary restraint. However, further scrutiny of high DR individuals reveals a diversity of self-perception/body measures profiles. Research attention to these profiles is required for a more complete understanding of the development and consequences of DR.

References (0)

Cited by (18)

Supersize my brain: A cross-sectional voxel-based morphometry study on the association between self-reported dietary restraint and regional grey matter volumes
2016, Biological Psychology
Citation Excerpt :
We used the restraint scale of the DEBQ, which has been developed to assess eating behaviors in the general population. The DEBQ is one of the most widely used restraint scales and the factor structure has been well replicated across different samples (Allison, Kalinsky, & Gorman, 1992; Fox, Page, Peters, Armstrong, & Kirby, 1994; Van Strien et al., 1986). The scale used to measure dietary restraint appears to be of influence: in a study that compared all measures of restraint, it was found that only the Eating Inventory Restraint Scale (Stunkard & Messick, 1985) was predictive of successful long-term (6 months) dietary restriction (Williamson et al., 2007).
Restrained eaters do not eat less than their unrestrained counterparts. Proposed underlying mechanisms are that restrained eaters are more reward sensitive and that they have worse inhibitory control. Although fMRI studies assessed these mechanisms, it is unknown how brain anatomy relates to dietary restraint. Voxel-based morphometry was performed on anatomical scans from 155 normal-weight females to investigate how regional grey matter volume correlates with restraint. A positive correlation was found in several areas, including the parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, striatum and the amygdala (bilaterally, p < 0.05, corrected). A negative correlation was found in several areas, including the inferior frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, middle cingulate cortex and precentral gyrus (p < 0.05, corrected). That higher restraint relates to higher grey matter volume in reward-related areas and lower grey matter volume in regions involved in inhibition, provides a neuroanatomical underpinning of theories relating restraint to increased reward sensitivity and reduced inhibitory capacity.
Predictors of body image dissatisfaction in elementary-age school girls
2000, Eating Behaviors
Concerns about weight, shape, body image, dieting, and eating are evident among elementary-age school girls [Int. J. Eating Disord. 10 (1991) 199; J. Adolesc. Health 12 (1991) 307; Pediatrics 84 (1989) 482; J. Clin. Psychol. 21 (1992) 41; Addict. Behav. (2000).]. Body image dissatisfaction, found to predict the formation of eating disturbances in longitudinal studies [Eating Disord.: J. Treat. Prev. 2 (1994) 114; Int. J. Eating Disord. 18 (1995) 221.], is likely a necessary precursor of eating disturbance development [J. Abnorm. Psychol. 102 (1993) 438.]. Turning back the etiological clock, this study examines the association between body image dissatisfaction and four potential areas of influence, including peer relationships, family characteristics, personality features, and body mass index, among girls in grades three, four, and five. Each conceptual area significantly contributed to the prediction of body image dissatisfaction. The combination of statistically significant variables, including teasing, peer modeling of weight and shape concerns, daughters' perceptions of parental influence to lose or control weight, appearance comparison, sensitivity, and body mass index, accounted for 50% of the variance in general body image dissatisfaction and 45% in weight and shape dissatisfaction. Implications for prevention, treatment, and future research are discussed.
Young girls' emerging dietary restraint and disinhibition are related to parental control in child feeding
2000, Appetite
This research investigated the origins of dietary restraint and disinhibition in young girls by considering how parents' control in child feeding and their daughters' perceptions of these practices relate to girls' dietary restraint and disinhibition. Participants were 197 5-year-old girls (4.6–6.4 years) and their parents. Parental pressure and restriction were measured using the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Girls' perceptions of parental pressure and restriction were measured using the Kid's Child Feeding Questionnaire, and their restraint and emotional and external disinhibition were measured using an age-appropriate version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to determine associations among parental control in feeding, daughters' perceptions of control, and daughters' dietary restraint and disinhibition. The results indicated that one-third of 5-year-olds reported moderate levels of dietary restraint, about 25% of the sample showed evidence of emotional disinhibition, and nearly 75% reported externally disinhibited eating in the presence of palatable foods. Daughters' dietary restraint and emotional disinhibition were related to their perceptions of parental pressure to eat more, while their external disinhibition was related to their perceptions of having restrictions placed on their eating. This research reveals that pressure in child feeding is associated with the emergence of dietary restraint and disinhibition among young girls, eating styles characterized by a lack of responsiveness to internal hunger and satiety cues.
The concurrent validity of a classification of dieters with low versus high susceptibility toward failure of restraint
1997, Addictive Behaviors
It has been experimentally shown that the population of high restrained eaters consists of two subpopulations, i.e., those with a low and those with a high susceptibility toward failure of restraint. Only those who combined high restraint with high scores on the disinhibition scale of the TFEQ (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) showed overeating after a preload. The aim of the present study was to assess the concurrent validity of a two-factorial classification using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) scales for restraint, emotional and external eating, as well as the bulimia scale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) for locating dieters with low or high susceptibility toward failure. It was examined whether the resulting two-group classification is associated with self-reported behaviors and features of psychopathology, which are generally thought to differentiate both groups of dieters. The results indicated that the two-group classification was indeed associated with many of these behaviors and features of psychopathology. It was concluded that this classification has a good concurrent validity.
Behavioral and biological associations of dietary restraint: A review of the literature
2008, Ecology of Food and Nutrition
Five-year prevalence and persistence of disturbed eating behavior and eating disorders in girls with type 1 diabetes
2007, Diabetes Care

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Regular ArticleDietary restraint and fatness in early adolescent girls and boys

Abstract

Regular Article
Dietary restraint and fatness in early adolescent girls and boys