Feeling well surrounded: Perceived societal support fosters healthy eating

Societal resources (e.g. recreational facilities, free online information, healthy food retail) are consistently found to be important facilitators for healthy eating. In the current research, we propose that healthy eating is not only facilitated by the actual available support in society, but equally well by individuals' subjective perception on how helpful the provided support truly is. We refer to the latter as "perceived societal support" and examine how this influences healthy eating. Across two experimental studies, we observe that perceived societal support positively affects healthy eating: People who perceive the available support as helpful are more likely to choose healthy food over unhealthy food (study 1) and consume less from an unhealthy food product (study 2) compared to people who perceive the available support as less helpful. These findings do not only contribute to existing literature on societal support and healthy eating behavior, but also provide important policy implications.

The ironic effects of dietary restraint in situations that undermine self-regulation

Dietary restraint, defined as the cognitive effort to restrict eating, can paradoxically make individuals more susceptible to unhealthy eating when their ability to self-regulate is threatened. Past experiments have found that, in situations that elicit low self-control and/or unhealthy cravings, participants with higher dietary restraint eat more than those with lower restraint. However, these relationships have never been examined in a free-living environment. The current daily diary study examined if dietary restraint would exacerbate the associations between poor self-control and unhealthy cravings with overconsumption, namely, eating more than usual and binge eating. College women (N = 121, M age = 19) reported their restrained eating behavior and completed seven daily surveys. Multilevel analyses showed a significant interaction between dietary restraint and daily self-control on eating more than usual (b = -0.13, p = .001) and binge eating (b = -0.22, p < .001). Lower daily self-control was associated with eating more than usual and with more binge eating that day, but only among women with higher dietary restraint. Dietary restraint also moderated the effect of cravings on eating more than usual (b = 0.10, p = .007); this relationship was stronger for women with higher restraint. Stronger cravings were associated with more binge eating regardless of restraint. Results suggest that situations that undermine self-control are more strongly associated with overeating among those with higher dietary restraint. Findings can inform strategies to reduce overconsumption among restrained eaters.

Approach avoidance training to curb consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages - A pilot randomized controlled trial in healthy volunteers

Elevated consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contributes to overweight and obesity. Automatic action tendencies like an approach bias might promote the consumption of SSBs. We investigated whether an Approach-Avoidance Training (AAT) reduces this approach bias and related behaviors like craving for and consumption of SSBs. Fifty-six healthy participants, with a self-reported SSB consumption of at least 330 ml per day, were randomized to 6 sessions of real or sham AAT. In the real AAT condition, participants were trained to react with avoidance movements to pictures of SSBs in an implicit learning paradigm (i.e. participants were instructed to respond to a task-irrelevant feature), whereas in the sham AAT condition the same pictures were used but no systematic (avoidance) reaction was trained. Approach bias, craving for SSB and SSB intake in a bogus taste test were assessed. Real AAT was not superior to sham AAT in any outcome measure. AAT in its current form and as a stand-alone intervention does not appear to be effective in reducing SSB consumption.

Laboratory-based interventions targeting food craving: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the effects of laboratory-based interventions targeting specific mechanisms of food craving, to identify moderators of effects, and to qualitatively summarize findings. The study was conducted and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Sixty-nine studies were included in the quantitative synthesis, and separate meta-analyses were conducted for the outcomes self-reported craving and objective food intake. Results show small to medium positive effects across specific craving interventions on both outcomes. Effect sizes were partly moderated by intervention type. The most effective intervention regarding food intake was in sensu cue exposure. For subjective craving, the most robust evidence was found for beneficial effects of cognitive regulation strategies (ie, reappraisal, suppression, and distraction). Results further indicate that training inhibitory control through behavioral inhibition might be more effective than approach-avoidance training when considering its effect on subjective craving and food intake. People with external eating habits, overeating, or loss-of-control eating might benefit from these types of specific craving interventions. Future research should focus on long-term effects, transferability, and effectiveness in clinical samples.

Power of Cognition: How Dysfunctional Cognitions and Schemas Influence Eating Behavior in Daily Life Among Individuals With Eating Disorders

Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by marked cognitive distortions and maladaptive schemas. Cognitive models of EDs highlight the direct impact of cognitive dysfunctions on eating-related disturbances, insofar as specific cognitive contents such as thoughts about diet rules and food or loss of control may trigger disturbed eating behavior. Moreover, early maladaptive schemas that reflect perfectionist standards and relate to achievement and performance seem to be associated with disturbed eating, e.g., via their impact on situation-specific appraisals. However, so far, no study has investigated these assumptions. Hence, the present study sought to demonstrate whether and how cognitive content exerts an impact on eating behavior in daily life, and whether maladaptive core schemas impact the occurrence of binge eating via dysfunctional ED cognitions in eating-related contexts. N = 29 females with bulimia nervosa (BN), n = 31 females with binge eating disorder (BED) and n = 30 female controls without EDs (NC) participated in the study. All participants received a handheld computer for a 48-h period to capture antecedents of disturbed eating behavior in daily life. Event-sampling (meals, binge eating, purging, stressful situations) and signal-sampling (five times a day) methods were applied. EMA included a short questionnaire to assess dysfunctional cognitions and level of craving and to capture information about situational contexts. Early maladaptive schemas were assessed using a short version of the Young Schema Questionnaire at baseline. The main results showed specific patterns of dysfunctional eating-related cognitions for BED and BN. Binge eating was predicted by thoughts about loss of control (positively) and dietary restraint (negatively). For meal situations, no significant differences between the two ED groups emerged. All three domains exerted indirect effects on craving via thoughts about ‘eating/loss of control,’ whereas neither a direct nor an indirect effect emerged regarding thoughts about ‘dietary restraint.’ These results fit well with previous studies and support cognitive models of EDs; schema therapeutic approaches may be a valuable contribution to enhance treatment of EDs. Further studies should explore whether the findings from emerging adulthood can be generalized to younger age groups.

Ultra-brief non-expert-delivered defusion and acceptance exercises for food cravings: A partial replication study

Food cravings are a common barrier to losing weight. This article presents a randomised comparison of non-expert group-delivered ultra-brief defusion and acceptance interventions against a distraction control. A total of 63 participants were asked to carry a bag of chocolates for a week while trying to resist the temptation to eat them. A behavioural rebound measure was administered. Each intervention out-performed control in respect of consumption, but not cravings. These techniques may have a place in the clinical management of food cravings. We provide tentative evidence that the mechanism of action is through decreased reactivity to cravings, not through reduced frequency of cravings.

Restrained Eating and Food Cues: Recent Findings and Conclusions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purposes of the present review are to organize the recent literature on the effects of food cues on restrained and unrestrained eaters and to determine current directions in such work.

RECENT FINDINGS

Research over the last several years involves both replicating the work showing that restrained eaters respond to attractive food cues by eating more but unrestrained eaters show less responsiveness and extending this work to examine the mechanisms that might underlie this differential responsiveness. Labeling a food as healthy encourages more eating by restrained eaters, while diet-priming cues seem to curtail their consumption even in the face of attractive food cues. Work on cognitive responses indicates that restrained (but not unrestrained) eaters have both attention and memory biases toward food cues. Restrained eaters attend more strongly to food- and diet-related cues than do unrestrained eaters, as evidenced in both their eating behavior and their attention and memory responses to such cues. These effects interact with expectations and manner of presentation of such cues. What remains to be understood is the meaning and mechanism of the attention bias toward food cues in restrained eaters and the implications of such bias for overeating and overweight more broadly speaking.

Effects of repetitive imagination of alcohol consumption on craving in alcohol-dependent patients: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

In the majority of patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), the clinical course is characterized by multiple relapses to drinking, frequently preceded by intense craving for alcohol. The present pilot study aimed to assess the effects of a repetitive imaginary cue-exposure protocol in reducing craving in recently abstinent alcohol-dependent patients.

METHODS

Sixty-four patients were randomly assigned to six intervention groups and were instructed to repetitively imagine: i) drinking a glass of their preferred alcoholic drink (low vs. high number of repetitions); or ii) drinking a glass of water (low vs. high number of repetitions); or iii) performing an analogous movement or performed no imagination. Additionally, 10 healthy controls were instructed to repetitively imagine drinking a glass of their preferred alcoholic drink (high number of repetitions). The levels of craving before and after intervention were measured using the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ) and the Visual Analogue Scale for Craving (VASC).

RESULTS

Repetitive imagination of alcohol consumption did not lead to a significant decrease in craving in alcohol-dependent patients as measured by the AUQ and VASC. In contrast, healthy controls showed a nearly significant decrease of the urge to drink alcohol after applying the protocol with a high number of repetitions.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this pilot study might indicate an aberrant ability to habituate to alcohol-related stimuli in patients with AUD compared to healthy subjects. Future studies in larger samples are needed to further explore the effectiveness of imaginary cue-exposure interventions in alcohol dependence.