Do Restrained Eaters Identify as Dieters? Exploring the Role of Self-Concept in the Consumption of Restrained Eaters

Prior research views restrained eaters’ self-regulation of food consumption as an effortful, conscious desire to limit their food consumption, and thus control their physiological urges to consume food (Herman and Polivy 1980; Stroebe et al. 2008). In support of this perspective, research has shown that restrained eaters consistently think more about dieting and weight-related issues (Boon, Stroebe, and Schut 1997; van Koningsbruggen, Stroebe and Aarts 2012), and that the chronic accessibility of dieting and weight-control thoughts enables restrained eaters to successfully regulate their food consumption (Stroebe et al. 2008). Consequently, situational variables that inhibit conscious self-regulation lead restrained eaters to consume more food. Although research has provided much insight into how situational influences can lead to increased or decreased food consumption among restrained eaters (e.g., McFarlane et al. 1998; Herman, Roth, and Polivy 2003), less is known about the role that the self-concept plays in the self-regulatory efforts of restrained eaters. Research suggests that restrained eaters are more concerned about their weight and physical appearance than non-restrained eaters (Laessle et al. 1989; Wilksch and Wade 2004), and that restrained eaters are more self-aware and self-conscious about how they are viewed by others than non-restrained eaters (Blanchard and Frost 1983; Heatherton and Baumeister 1991). These differences are frequently attributed to societal pressures on individuals to be thin (Herman et al. 2003; Strauman et al. 1991). Yet, it is unclear the extent to which restrained eaters’ chronic concern about weight control and dieting is purely a social phenomenon, or has been internalized to become a part of their self-concept.