Reduce temptation or resist it? Experienced temptation mediates the relationship between implicit evaluations of unhealthy snack foods and subsequent intake

A systematic review of ecological momentary assessment studies of appetite and affect in the experience of temptations and lapses during weight loss dieting

Dietary temptations and lapses challenge control over eating and act as barriers toward successful weight loss. These are difficult to assess in laboratory settings or with retrospective measures as they occur momentarily and driven by the current environment. A better understanding of how these experiences unfold within real-world dieting attempts could help inform strategies to increase the capacity to cope with the changes in appetitive and affective factors that surround these experiences. We performed a narrative synthesis on the empirical evidence of appetitive and affective outcomes measured using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) during dieting in individuals with obesity and their association with dietary temptations and lapses. A search of three databases (Scopus, Medline, and PsycInfo) identified 10 studies. Within-person changes in appetite and affect accompany temptations and lapses and are observable in the moments precipitating a lapse. Lapsing in response to these may be mediated through the strength of a temptation. Negative abstinence-violation effects occur following a lapse, which negatively impact self-attitudes. Engagement in coping strategies during temptations is effective for preventing lapses. These findings indicate that monitoring changes in sensations during dieting could help identify the crucial moments when coping strategies are most effective for aiding with dietary adherence.

Out of Reach and Under Control: Distancing as a Self-Control Strategy

In a world where they are inundated with potential temptations, how are successful dieters able to resist the urge to give in to unhealthy foods? Four studies suggest distance is one tool that may enable people to forego temptation. People with strong goals to eat healthy preferred to be farther away from unhealthy foods (Study 1a), which was associated with feeling less tempted by and less likely to give in to them (Study 1b). In addition, successful self-regulators with goals to restrict unhealthy eating perceptually represented the distance to unhealthy foods as greater than the distance to healthy foods (Study 2). Moreover, in a week-long food diary study, distancing from temptations helped people make healthier food choices (Study 3). The studies suggest that successful self-regulators' motivations to avoid unhealthy foods are reflected in the way they structure and perceive the world. Distancing may allow people space to make healthier choices.

The bogus taste test: Validity as a measure of laboratory food intake

Because overconsumption of food contributes to ill health, understanding what affects how much people eat is of importance. The ‘bogus’ taste test is a measure widely used in eating behaviour research to identify factors that may have a causal effect on food intake. However, there has been no examination of the validity of the bogus taste test as a measure of food intake. We conducted a participant level analysis of 31 published laboratory studies that used the taste test to measure food intake. We assessed whether the taste test was sensitive to experimental manipulations hypothesized to increase or decrease food intake. We examined construct validity by testing whether participant sex, hunger and liking of taste test food were associated with the amount of food consumed in the taste test. In addition, we also examined whether BMI (body mass index), trait measures of dietary restraint and over-eating in response to palatable food cues were associated with food consumption. Results indicated that the taste test was sensitive to experimental manipulations hypothesized to increase or decrease food intake. Factors that were reliably associated with increased consumption during the taste test were being male, have a higher baseline hunger, liking of the taste test food and a greater tendency to overeat in response to palatable food cues, whereas trait dietary restraint and BMI were not. These results indicate that the bogus taste test is likely to be a valid measure of food intake and can be used to identify factors that have a causal effect on food intake.

The Effect of Implicit Preferences on Food Consumption: Moderating Role of Ego Depletion and Impulsivity

Ego depletion has been found to moderate the effect of implicit preferences on food consumption, such that implicit preferences predict consumption only under a depleted state. The present study tested how trait impulsivity impacts the effect of implicit preferences on food consumption in a depleted condition. Trait impulsivity was measured by means of self-report and a stop signal task. Results showed that both self-reported impulsivity and behavioral impulsivity moderated the 'depletion and then eating according to implicit preferences' effect, albeit in different ways. Participants high in self-reported impulsivity and low in behavioral impulsivity were more vulnerable to the effect of depletion on eating. The implications of these results for extant theories are discussed. Future research is needed to verify whether or not trait impulsivity is associated with vulnerability to depletion across different self-control domains.

Too Depleted to Try? Testing the Process Model of Ego Depletion in the Context of Unhealthy Snack Consumption

BACKGROUND

The process model proposes that the ego depletion effect is due to (a) an increase in motivation toward indulgence, and (b) a decrease in motivation to control behaviour following an initial act of self-control. In contrast, the reflective-impulsive model predicts that ego depletion results in behaviour that is more consistent with desires, and less consistent with motivations, rather than influencing the strength of desires and motivations. The current study sought to test these alternative accounts of the relationships between ego depletion, motivation, desire, and self-control.

METHODS

One hundred and fifty-six undergraduate women were randomised to complete a depleting e-crossing task or a non-depleting task, followed by a lab-based measure of snack intake, and self-report measures of motivation and desire strength.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

In partial support of the process model, ego depletion was related to higher intake, but only indirectly via the influence of lowered motivation. Motivation was more strongly predictive of intake for those in the non-depletion condition, providing partial support for the reflective-impulsive model. Ego depletion did not affect desire, nor did depletion moderate the effect of desire on intake, indicating that desire may be an appropriate target for reducing unhealthy behaviour across situations where self-control resources vary.

Eating on impulse: Implicit attitudes, self-regulatory resources, and trait self-control as determinants of food consumption

Self-regulatory resources and trait self-control have been found to moderate the impulse-behavior relationship. The current study investigated whether the interaction of self-regulatory resources and trait self-control moderates the association between implicit attitudes and food consumption. One hundred twenty female participants were randomly assigned to either a depletion condition in which their self-regulatory resources were reduced or a no-depletion condition. Participants' implicit attitudes for chocolate were measured with the Single Category Implicit Association Test and self-report measures of trait self-control were collected. The dependent variable was chocolate consumption in an ostensible taste and rate task. Implicit attitudes predicted chocolate consumption in depleted participants but not in non-depleted participants. However, this predictive power of implicit attitudes on eating in depleted condition disappeared in participants with high trait self-control. Thus, trait self-control and self-regulatory resources interact to moderate the prediction of implicit attitude on eating behavior. Results suggest that high trait self-control buffers the effect of self-regulatory depletion on impulsive eating.