Abstract
The origins of theories specifying dietary restraint as a cause of eating disorders can be traced to the 1970s. This paper will present an overview of the origins of dietary restraint theories and a brief historical review of evidence will be summarized. Recent research will be presented, including the results from the CALERIE Phase 1 study, as well as CALERIE Phase 2, which were NIH-sponsored randomized controlled trials. CALERIE 2 provided a test of the effect of two years of caloric restriction (CR) on the development of eating disorder syndromes and symptoms in comparison to a control group that did not alter eating behavior or body weight. The intervention was effective for inducing a chronic (two-year) reduction in total energy expenditure and increased dietary restraint but did not increase symptoms of eating disorders. The results of this recent investigation and other studies have not provided experimental support for conventional dietary restraint theories of eating disorders. These findings are discussed in terms of potential revisions of dietary restraint theory, as well as the implications for a paradigm shift in public health messaging related to dieting.
Highlights
Relationship between Dieting, Keywords: dietary restraint; dieting; eating disorders; disordered eating; bulimia nervosa; anorexia nervosa; caloric restriction; obesity; weight loss; binge eating
Williamson et al [53] concluded that the Eating Inventory (EI) Restraint Scale was most valid for measuring intent to diet and that changes in the EI Restraint Scale were most valid for measuring actual dietary restriction. These findings suggest that the very significant increases in the EI Restraint Scale scores observed in the two CALERIE studies (Phases 1 and 2) represent strong tests that increased dietary restraint but did not result in the development of eating disorders
Prospective studies suggest that dietary restraint may be helpful for mitigation of weight gain, but not as a predictor of weight gain [33]
Summary
The hypothesis that dieting, dietary restraint, and caloric restriction cause harmful overeating, weight gain, obesity, and eating disorders was initially proposed in a paper that described the results of a laboratory study of eating behavior [1]. All three terms require the same goal (to manage calorie intake), but only dieting and CR include behavioral actions, e.g., eating less food, as dietary restraint is a cognitive construct that may or may not be associated with restricting energy intake. The hypothesis originated by Herman and Polivy [1] that dietary restraint can lead to the development of eating disorders was later labeled as the dietary restraint theory by Williamson [10] and has formed the basis of concerns about harms caused by dieting, CR, and weight management [2] By the time this theory came into focus, dietary restraint was implicated in the etiology of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive overeating [10,11,12]. Discussion [22] and research [23] about the potential causal relationship between dietary restraint and overeating have continued to the present time period
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
