THE RELATIONSHIP OF COGNITIVE RESTRAINT TO THE SPONTANEOUS FOOD AND FLUID INTAKE OF FREE-LIVING HUMANS

How the desire to restrain intake, cognitive restraint, may influence the amount or pattern of food and fluid intake was investigated by stu dying the spontaneous intake of free-living humans. The Three-Factor E ating Questionnaire and the Restraint Scale were completed by 358 adul ts who also were paid to maintain 7-day diaries of their intake. For b oth males and females, higher cognitive restraint was associated with lower and less variable overall intake, especially of fat and carbohyd rate. This resulted from the ingestion of smaller and less variable me als that contained less fat. In addition, high restraint was associate d with smaller deprivation ratios, and lower estimated before and afte r meal stomach contents. Although females were higher in restraint tha n males, comparable levels of restraint had equivalent effects upon in take. The results suggest that restrained subjects simply eat less bec ause they require less with cognitive restraint as a secondary consequ ence.