Elsevier

Appetite

Volume 52, Issue 2, April 2009, Pages 531-534
Appetite

Short communication
Guilty or not? Feelings of guilt about food among college women

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.12.004Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess how frequently and under what circumstances college women (n = 55) experience feelings of guilt about food. Data were collected by means of a 1-week food diary. Results showed that a majority of the sample regularly experienced mild feelings of guilt. These feelings were particularly likely to result from eating between-meal snacks in the afternoon or after-dinner eating in the evening. Eating candy and ice cream accounted for the most ‘guilty moments’. Eating in certain social situations (e.g., eating at a friend's house) induced relatively more often feelings of guilt.

Introduction

Food can become a source of worry and anxiety. Rozin, Kurzer, and Cohen (2002) observe that Americans tend to worry more about their food and focus less on the experience and pleasure of eating than do either French or Indian people. Harting, van Assema, and de Vries (2006) observe that 33% of their Dutch respondents reported increased feelings of guilt after participating in a health-counselling programme that was aimed at dietary behaviour, physical exercise and smoking. Earlier research has shown that feelings of guilt and anxiety towards food are very common among people who suffer from anorexia, bulimia or other eating disorders (Sassaroli et al., 2005). In their research into perception of body weight, Dewberry and Ussher (2001) found that high-restraint eaters (i.e., people who have chronic dietary concerns) are particularly likely to experience feelings of guilt after eating ‘bad’ (i.e., fattening) foods. In their study, the consumption of ‘bad’ foods was not the only factor that induced feelings of guilt in high-restraint eaters, however; certain contexts (e.g., eating in a restaurant) were also associated with increased feelings of guilt. This might be because people eat a larger amount when they eat with family and friends compared to eating alone.

In general, women tend to report more feelings of guilt towards food than men do (Dewberry & Ussher, 2001; Nowak & Speare, 1996; Rozin, Fischler, Imada, Sarubin, & Wrzesniewski, 1999; Wansink, Cheney, & Chan, 2003). Based on the findings of their research among dieters (‘when do dieters feel they have blown their diet’), Stein and Nemeroff (1995) predict that feelings of guilt about food are more likely to depend on the type of food than on the actual number of calories in the food. Gonzalez and Vitousek (2004) demonstrate a positive association between the perceived ‘fatteningness’ of food items and the incidence of feelings of guilt, both for people who are dieting and for those who are not. Dube, LeBel, and Lu (2005) report that, while the consumption of comfort foods alleviates women's negative emotions, it also tends to produce feelings of guilt.

Feelings of guilt can have both maladaptive and adaptive consequences. Breugelmans (2004) found that feelings of guilt and other emotions were positively associated with receiving disapproval from others, loss of control, poor self-esteem and regret, among other maladaptive consequences, but that they were also associated with attempts to correct mistakes. Luyten, Fontaine, and Corveleyn (2002) summarized a number of other maladaptive consequences, including negative self-evaluation, self-aggression and self-criticism. Maladaptive consequences are particularly likely to occur when there is no possibility of repairing what was done wrong (Luyten et al., 2002).

During the last years, more attention has been given to overweight and its health risks. Numerous campaigns and programmes for preventing overweight have been developed. Among other goals, many of these programmes are targeted at effecting changes in individual dietary behaviour. This focus might enhance guilty feelings about food. Because of the possible maladaptive consequences of guilt, it is important to monitor feelings of guilt related to food consumption. This study aims to gain insight in the frequency and context of feelings of guilt towards food. Most research conducted thus far, used data obtained by questionnaires to assess guilty feelings. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate feelings of guilt towards food, by using food diaries. In this way, additional information can be obtained about how often, with regard to what types of food and in which setting women experience feelings of guilt.

Section snippets

Design and participants

A convenience sample of 70 college women was recruited to participate in the study, as part of their curriculum. The purpose of the study was not explained in detail to the respondents. Fifty-five participants returned food diaries (response rate 78.6%). The mean age was 20.7 years (S.D. 3.2). Most of the respondents were of Dutch ethnicity (69.1%, most of those who were not Dutch were of either Surinamese or Turkish background), and mean BMI was 21.0 (S.D. 3.1).

Measurements

Each participant was asked to

Guilty moments

The average number of guilty moments during the food-diary week was 4.8 (S.D. 5.6), with a maximum of 20 guilty moments. There was no significant difference between the Dutch and non-Dutch respondents. The majority of the respondents reported having feelings of guilt about food at least once during the week (65.5%, n = 36). On average, respondents felt guilty during 11.5% (n = 248) of all reported eating moments (n = 2400) (S.D. 13.4). Excluding respondents who never experienced feelings of guilt,

Discussion

This study has investigated how frequently and under what circumstances college women experience feelings of guilt about their food intake, using food diaries. About a third of the sample did not experience any feelings of guilt about the food choices they made throughout the observed week. The results also show that a majority of the sample regularly experienced mild feelings of guilt. These feelings were particularly likely to result from eating between-meal snacks in the afternoon or after

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Michiel de Boer and Cor Zonneveld, for their contribution.

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