Why dieters fail: Testing the goal conflict model of eating

Stroebe, Wolfgang; Mensink, Wendy; Aarts, Henk; Schüt, H.; Kruglanski, Arie W.

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2007.01.005

Cited by 283 publications

(322 citation statements)

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“…In addition, this attention bias for palatable high energy foods is at the expense of the conflicting long-term goal (Papies et al, 2007;Stroebe et al, 2008). Once an attentional bias for palatable food has been initiated, this will continue to activate the eating enjoyment goal, which in turn will maintain the attentional bias for palatable unhealthy foods (Papies et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While this is typically a highly adaptive mechanism that allows us to navigate complex Running head: ROLE OF ATTENTION IN GOAL PRIMING 5 environments efficiently, it can be problematic in the current living environment, where the abundance of attractive food cues typically triggers these processes in favor of the goal of enjoying good food (Papies, Stroebe, & Aarts, 2007;Stroebe et al, 2008). This may ultimately lead to overeating and to weight gain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Goal-directed visual attention drives health goal priming: An eye-tracking experiment.

et al. 2017

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Objective: Several lab and field experiments have shown that goal priming interventions can be highly effective in promoting healthy food choices. Less is known, however, about the mechanisms by which goal priming affects food choice. This experiment tested the hypothesis that goal priming affects food choices through changes in visual attention.Specifically, it was hypothesized that priming with the dieting goal steers attention towards goal-relevant, low energy food products, which in turn increases the likelihood of choosing these products. Methods:In this eye-tracking experiment, 125 participants chose between high and low energy food products in a realistic online supermarket task while their eye movements were recorded with an eye-tracker. One group was primed with a health and dieting goal, a second group was exposed to a control prime, and a third group was exposed to no prime at all. Results:The health goal prime increased low energy food choices and decreased high energy food choices. Furthermore, the health goal prime resulted in proportionally longer total dwell times on low energy food products, and this effect mediated the goal priming effect on choices. Conclusions:The findings suggest that the effect of priming on consumer choice may originate from an increase in attention for prime-congruent items. This study supports the effectiveness of health goal priming interventions in promoting healthy eating and opens up directions for research on other behavioral interventions that steer attention towards healthy foods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Goal-directed visual attention drives health goal priming: An eye-tracking experiment.

et al. 2017

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“…In successful dieters, such cues activate a long-term 'dieting' goal, whereas in unsuccessful dieters they activate the hedonic 'eating' goal. [120][121][122] Although these studies suggest that individuals who are able to control their eating show enhanced self-regulation, the malleability of self-regulatory capacities is debated and some researchers have argued that attempts to boost selfregulatory skills as a route to greater control over eating may be misplaced: 'Participants in the National Weight Control Registry who have demonstrated an impressive (and rare) ability to maintain a large weight loss, presumably are at the upper end of the distribution of obesity-prone individuals' ability to make long-term changes in their food intake and activity level. However, the fact that some people demonstrate such tight and prolonged control over their food intake, physical activity, and body weight does not mean that weight control professionals are able to instil this ability among those who do not naturally possess it (p 52S).'…”

Section: Links Between Restraint and General Self-regulatory Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary restraint and self-regulation in eating behavior

2011

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Self-control is generally viewed as highly desirable. In the eating behavior domain, however, the dominance of restraint theory has made the proposition that individuals should attempt to control their eating more controversial. This review discusses evidence from the dietary restraint literature and from studies of self-regulation processes to examine how far self-imposed control around food can be seen as beneficial for effective weight management. Epidemiological and field study evidence provides little support for the proposition that restrained eating causes disinhibited eating patterns. Restraint is often initiated as a response to weight gain, and the co-occurrence of disinhibited and restrained eating patterns on an individual level might better be explained by restraint acting as a marker for overeating tendencies. A sustained effort to monitor and control food intake characterizes successful long-term weight maintenance, suggesting that self-regulation in the eating domain is essential for those with a tendency to gain weight. Evidence from the literature on cognitive self-regulation suggests that there may be potential for people to learn to self-regulate better, both through training and controlled exposure techniques. Integration of the disparate theories of self-regulation is needed to identify the best ways of promoting self-regulation in order to support effective weight control, both in clinical and community settings.

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“…This larger effect may occur due to exercise assisting restrained individuals in controlling their eating behaviour (King, 1999). According to the goal conflict model of eating, restrained eating behaviour is determined by two opposing goals, eating enjoyment and weight control (Stroebe, Mensink, Aarts, Schut, & Kruglanski, 2008;Stroebe, van Koningsbruggen, Papies, & Aarts, 2013). The more active goal is argued to inhibit the other, and consequently exerts greater influence over eating behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Licence to eat: Information on energy expended during exercise affects subsequent energy intake

McCaig

Hawkins

Rogers³

2016

Appetite

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General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms INFORMATION ON ENERGY EXPENDED DURING EXERCISE AFFECTS SUBSEQUENT ENERGY INTAKE 2 AbstractAn acute bout of exercise, compared with no exercise, appears to have little influence on subsequent energy intake (EI), resulting in short-term negative energy balance. Whereas the labelling of food is evidenced to influence EI, little research has focused on how EI is affected by framing acute exercise in different ways. To explore this, 70 healthy, mostly lean, male and female participants in the current study completed a set amount of exercise (estimated energy expenditure (EE) 120 kcal), but were informed on three occasions before and after the exercise that they had expended either 50 kcal or 265 kcal. An ad libitum test meal, comprising orange juice, tortilla chips and chocolate chip cookies, was then presented after a 10-minute break to assess subsequent EI. Measures of hunger and dietary restraint were also completed. Greater EI, primarily driven by chocolate chip cookie consumption (p=.015), was observed in participants receiving 265 kcal EE information. Hunger ratings were significantly lower in the 265 kcal EE information group than in the 50 kcal group following the test meal (p=.035), but not immediately after the exercise. These results support an interpretation that higher EE information (265 kcal) provides participants with a greater 'license to eat' when palatable foods are accessible. Tentative evidence for a moderating effect of dietary restraint was observed, indicating a greater influence of EE information in participants with lower restraint. The findings of the current study suggest that the provision of EE information (e.g., through mobile device apps) could be counter-productive to healthy weight management.

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Why dieters fail: Testing the goal conflict model of eating

Cited by 283 publications

References 53 publications

Goal-directed visual attention drives health goal priming: An eye-tracking experiment.

Goal-directed visual attention drives health goal priming: An eye-tracking experiment.

Dietary restraint and self-regulation in eating behavior

Licence to eat: Information on energy expended during exercise affects subsequent energy intake

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