Explaining unexplainable food choices

In recent years, psychologists have started to investigate the downstream consequences of nonconsciously activated behaviour (acting in an ‘explanatory vacuum’). Results have shown that when such behaviour is norm‐violating, people experience a need to confabulate reasons for this behaviour. The present paper aims to add more convincing evidence for this assumption. Study 1 addresses this question by replicating Study 2 of Adriaanse, Weijers, De Ridder, De Witt Huberts, and Evers ( 2014 ) while adding a condition in which people are post hoc provided with an explanation for their behaviour. Study 2 addresses this question by explicitly demanding an explanation for a nonconsciously steered choice. Both studies were conducted in the context of eating behaviour. Results of both studies were indicative of confabulation as a downstream consequence of nonconsciously steered eating behaviour (Study 1) or food choice (Study 2). Future research should address the potential of confabulated reasons spilling over to next occasions.     

The positive eating scale: relationship with objective health parameters and validity in Germany,the USA and India

Objective: The prevailing focus regarding eating behaviour is on restriction, concern, worry and pathology. In contrast, the purpose of the present studies was to focus on a positive relationship with eating in non-clinical samples from Germany, the USA and India.

Design: In Study 1, the Positive Eating Scale (PES) was tested and validated in a large longitudinal sample (T1: N = 772; T2: N = 510). In Study 2, the PES was tested in online samples from the USA, India and Germany (total N = 749).

Main Outcome Measures: Health risk status was measured in Study 1 with objective health parameters (fasting serum glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, waist circumference, BMI).

Results: Study 1 revealed acceptable psychometric properties of the PES, internal consistency (α = .87), as well as test–retest reliability after six months (r = .67). Importantly, a positive relationship with eating was associated with decreased health risk factors six months later. In Study 2, the structure of the PES was confirmed for German, Indian and US-American adults, suggesting validity across remarkably different eating environments.

Conclusion: A positive relationship with eating might be a fruitful starting point for prevention and intervention programmes promoting physical and psychological health.     

The Effects of Appearance-Based Comments and Non-Appearance-Based Evaluations on Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Urges: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

The current study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate whether appearance-based comments, social and performance-based evaluations affected levels of body dissatisfaction (BD) and urges to engage in disordered eating behaviors (DE) throughout daily life. A total of 620 participants completed a baseline questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables. Participants then downloaded a mobile app which alerted them to complete short surveys assessing their levels of BD, DE urges, and experiences of receiving comments and evaluations six times per day for 7 days. Negative appearance-based comments predicted greater levels of state BD, while positive appearance comments predicted lower levels of state BD. Negative social and performance-based evaluations predicted an increase in state BD, while positive evaluations predicted a decrease in this outcome variable. No significant predictor was found for the DE urge outcomes. The present findings suggest that receiving negative and positive feedback in various domains of one’s life may predict opposite outcomes for body image. However, these effects do not necessarily associate with urges to engage in DE in a nonclinical population.     

Exploring the mental health of circus artists: Circus factors,psychological resilience,and demographics predict disordered eating and exercise addictions

There are similarities in the performance demands of circus and other performance domains such as leanness sports and dance, yet little is known about the mental health of circus artists. We explored self-reported disordered eating and exercise addictions in a sample of 500 circus artists. The sample consisted of aerial acrobats (71%), floor acrobats (13%), object manipulators (9%), and equilibrists (6%) who participate in circus at a range of performance levels (amateur 50%, part/full-time professional 41%, student 6%, retired 3%). Similar to elite athletes in leanness sports, approximately 36% of the circus artists in our sample were classified as ‘at risk’ of an eating disorder. A binomial logistic regression model suggested that being ‘at risk’ of an eating disorder was negatively related to participants’ age and trait resilience, positively related to exercise addictions, and differences among circus categories were found (i.e., higher among equilibrium and aerial acrobatics). Using a Bayesian estimation procedure, a linear regression model suggested that exercise addiction scores were positively related to participants’ weekly training time and being ‘at risk’ for an eating disorder, negatively associated with their years of experience in circus, and differences between circus categories (high levels in equilibrium) and modality of engagement in circus (higher levels among amateurs) were identified. Consequently, these exploratory study findings indicate that a complex interaction of factors might impact the development of disordered eating and exercise addictions among circus artists. Implications for discipline-specific and experience-specific interventions to address these maladaptive behaviours are discussed.     

Eating-related problems among 13-15 year old Swedish adolescents: Frequency and stability over a one-year period

Viborg, N., Wångby‐Lundh, M., Lundh, L.‐G. & Johnsson P. (2012). Eating‐related problems among 13‐15 year old Swedish adolescents: Frequency and stability over a one‐year period. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 401–406. The frequency of eating‐related problems in young adolescents, and their stability over a one‐year period, was studied by the RiBED‐8 (Risk Behaviours related to Eating Disorders, 8 items) in a community sample of 13–15 year old adolescents who took part in a prospective study with a 2‐wave longitudinal design. The RiBED‐8 was found to have good reliability and construct validity among the girls, although it did not show equally convincing psychometric properties among boys. With a cut‐off of at least three critical answers on the RiBED‐8, 28.5–31.0% of the girls were seen as risk cases for the development of eating disorder. Of those girls who were risk cases at Time 1, a majority (68.8%) remained so at Time 2; of those girls who were not risk cases at Time 1, 16.1% became risk cases at Time 2. It is suggested that the RiBED‐8 is a brief, easily administered instrument that may be potentially useful in screening for eating‐related problems among girls.     

A Relational Cultural Approach to Working With Clients With Eating Disorders

The authors examine eating disorders through the conceptual framework of relational cultural theory (RCT). Taking into account the importance of relationships and connection, it is suggested that RCT may be a useful lens for conceptualizing and working with people who are experiencing eating disorders. Ways that RCT can be applied to enhance prevention efforts and recommendations for combining relationally focused counseling with evidence‐based individual eating disorder treatment are presented.     

Changing the body image concern and eating behaviour of chronic dieters: The effects of a psychoeducational intervention

Abstract

A program designed to diminish body image concern and to normalise the eating of chronic dieters was evaluated experimentally and by monitoring outcomes for 12 months. The subjects were 82 females (mean age 44.4 years, mean BMI 31.4). Data from repeated measures of eating style, self-esteem and body shape concern revealed a strong, positive and enduring intervention effect. At 12 months the majority (86%) of the subjects were not dieting and 73% reported “sometimes” or “often” engaging in natural eating, i.e., unrestrained and physiologically cued eating. A positive relationship was found between extent of natural eating and the likelihood of weight loss or weight maintenance. It is concluded that female dieters can derive considerable benefits from programs promoting natural eating.     

Making snacking less sinful: (Counter-)moralising obesity in the public discourse differentially affects food choices of individuals with high and low perceived body mass

Objective: As public discourse surrounding obesity highlights the societal costs of obesity and individual’s own responsibility for their weight, being overweight is often framed as immoral. Such ‘moralizing’ messages about being overweight may be a psychological threat for those with high body mass. Attempting to counter-moralise the public discourse (i.e. actively arguing that there is nothing ‘immoral’ about being overweight) may relieve this threat, inducing people, especially those with higher (perceived) weight, to engage in healthier behaviours.

Method: Two experiments were performed among Dutch and US participants. (Counter-)moralisation was manipulated. Body mass and weight-related self-perceptions were measured. The dependent variable was healthy vs. unhealthy snack choice.

Results: (Counter-)moralisation and (perceived) overweight jointly predicted snack choice: counter-moralising messages induced healthy snacking, but only among those who regarded themselves to have a high body mass.

Conclusions: The effects of moralising vs. counter-moralising obesity depended on one’s (perceived) overweight. This suggests that, for people with relatively high weight, the current moralising public discourse on obesity works in counterproductive ways. Campaigns that ‘counter-moralize’ obesity (i.e. that refute moralising messages) are more productive, although they should be tailored to those who see themselves as being overweight.     

Rapid naming,not cancellation speed or articulation rate,predicts reading in an orthographically regular language (Italian)

This study examined the influence of rapid automatization naming (RAN) measures on various parameters of reading performance in children who were native speakers of a language with a shallow orthography (Italian). Participants included 281 children enrolled in first-to-sixth grade. They were given a Naming test, in which they had to name rapidly matrices of colors, objects, or digits, a Cancellation test, using the same stimulus materials, and an oral Articulation test. Performance on all tests improved steadily across ages tested. Performance on the Naming test, but not on the Cancellation and Articulation tests, predicted speed and accuracy in reading; none of these measures reliably predicted the reading comprehension measure. Data on a Blending test were also available for a subsample of first- and third-graders. Both RAN and phonological ability contributed independently to the prediction of reading ability (accuracy and speed) in these participants. The results extend observations on RAN to an orthographically shallow language (Italian) and suggest an element of continuity between languages with opaque and transparent orthographies.