Measuring Dietary Restraint Status: Comparisons between the Dietary Intent Scale and the Restraint Scale.

Jessica A. Boyce,David H. Gleaves,Roeline G. Kuijer

doi:10.3389/fnut.2015.00008

Jessica A. Boyce, David H. Gleaves + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2015.00008

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Abstract

The measurement of young women’s self-reported dietary restraint status is complex. Compared to Herman and Polivy’s commonly utilized Restraint Scale (RS), Stice’s Dietary Intent Scale (DIS) is less understood. Because the DIS is becoming a popular research tool, it is important to understand how this scale compares to more traditional measures of restraint. We conducted two correlational studies (Study 1 N = 110; Study 2 N = 216) to ascertain the similarities and the differences between the DIS and – as a comparison measure – the well-researched RS. We explored how the two scales were related to several body image variables (e.g., thin-ideal internalization); with a range of self-regulatory variables (e.g., dispositional self-control); with observed food intake during a taste test; and with 18-month weight change (Study 2 only). Participants were female University students and were not selected for dieting or disordered eating. Unlike RS scores, DIS scores were not significantly correlated with the majority of variables tapping into unsuccessful self-regulation. However, our data also highlighted similarities between the two restraint scales (e.g., association with 18-month weight-loss) and demonstrated that not only were participants’ DIS scores un-related to unsuccessful self-regulatory variables, neither were they related to the variables tapping into successful self-regulation.

Highlights

Dieting is defined as “the intentional and sustained restriction of caloric intake for the purpose of reducing body weight or changing body shape, resulting in a significant negative energy balance” (p. 2582) [1]
We explored how the two scales were related to several body image variables; with a range of self-regulatory variables; with observed food intake during a taste test; and with 18-month weight change (Study 2 only)
The correlations between restraint scores and the other variables are displayed in Table 1 and we have based our interpretations on the z-test results, which compare the correlations

Summary

Introduction

Dieting is defined as “the intentional and sustained restriction of caloric intake for the purpose of reducing body weight or changing body shape, resulting in a significant negative energy balance” (p. 2582) [1]. In recent years, researchers have been criticized for basing such connections on self-report dietary restraint scales that are measuring body image and eating attitudes, rather than behavioral dietary restriction [2]. Researchers tend to generalize from one measure to another measure, without acknowledging the differences between such restraint scales In both Studies 1 and 2, we measured BMI, weight-dissatisfaction, social comparison tendency, and food intake. We removed the measures of body-image investment and eating expectancies from the questionnaire and replaced them with self-report measures of thin-ideal internalization, self-regulation, and self-control All three of these constructs have been implicated in the dietary restraint literature [37,38,39,40] and it is important to directly compare how different restraint scales tap into such individual differences. As in Study 1, this sample was not screened or selected for weight-loss or dieting intentions

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Conclusion