Flexible vs. rigid dieting strategies: Relationship with adverse behavioral outcomes

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that different types of diet ing strategies are associated with different behavioral outcomes by investi gating the relationship of dieting behaviors with overeating, body mass and mood. A sample of 223 adult male and female participants from a large comm unity were studied. Only a small proportion of the sample (18%) was seeking weight loss treatment, though almost half (49.3%) of the subjects were sig nificantly overweight (body mass index, BMI>30). Subjects were administered questionnaires measuring dietary restraint, overeating, depression and anx iety. Measurements of height and weight were also obtained in order to calc ulate BMI. Canonical correlation was performed to evaluate the relationship of dietary restraint variables with overeating variables, body mass, depre ssion and anxiety. The strongest canonical correlation (r=0.65) was the rel ationship between flexible dieting and the absence of overeating, lower bod y mass and lower levels of depression and anxiety. The second strongest can onical correlation (r=0.59) associated calorie counting and conscious dieti ng with overeating while alone and increased body mass. The third canonical correlation (r=0.57) found a relationship between low dietary restraint an d binge eating. The results support the hypothesis that overeating and othe r adverse behaviors and moods are associated with the presence or absence o f certain types of dieting behavior. (C) 1999 Academic Press.