The Attitudes to Chocolate Questionnaire. Psychometric properties and relationship with consumption, dieting, disinhibition and thought suppression.

We examined the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Attitudes to Chocolate Questionnaire (ACQ), comparing the original three-factor model to a later-suggested two-factor model. We evaluated the construct validity of the ACQ by investigating the associations between the resulting factors and other eating-related questionnaires such as the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire and the Food Thought Suppression Inventory. Finally, we compared the scores on several scales regarding eating behavior between different groups (men versus women, dieters versus non-dieters and cravers versus non-cravers). A confirmatory factor analysis of the Dutch ACQ indicated the best global fit indices for the two-factor model, with the resulting factors being "Negative consequences and Guilt" and "Craving and emotional eating". Both factors were associated with other eating-related dimensions. However, craving seemed to be uniquely associated with the amount of chocolate consumed per week, whereas guilt correlated strongly with restraint. Finally, women scored higher on nearly all scales, but there was no significant gender difference with regard to chocolate consumption. Dieters reported more disinhibition, restraint, food-thought suppression and guilt, but they did not significantly differ from non-dieters with regards to their levels of craving, hunger nor consumption.

Personal choice: a blessing or a burden, or both? A cross-cultural investigation on need for closure effects in two Western and two East-Asian societies.

The present study investigates the role of dispositional need for closure (NFC) in how individuals within a particular culture perceive and appreciate choice. Data sets from the US (283 adults), Europe (263 adults and 427 students), China (218 adults and 309 students) and Singapore (258 students) were collected. The results showed that in Western cultures, people perceived choice in a linear way as either a burden or a blessing, whereas in Chinese culture, such opposition between perspectives did not appear, and individuals generally saw choice as both burden and blessing simultaneously. In Western cultures, high dispositional NFC was strongly associated with viewing choice-as-a-burden, whereas Chinese respondents with a high NFC perceived choice as a blessing and a burden simultaneously. The Singaporean results were similar to the Western pattern. These findings are discussed in terms of the NFC literature and cultural differences in dialectic versus differentiation thinking styles.

Determinants of task performance and invested effort: a need for closure by relative cognitive capacity interaction analysis.

This study examines the simultaneous effects of need for closure (NFC) and relative cognitive capacity on invested effort and task performance within the integrative analysis framework using behavioral data. Two main results were obtained. First, the authors revealed a significant interaction effect between relative cognitive capacity (manipulated through task difficulty) and NFC (manipulated through time pressure, noise, and fear of invalidity as well as assessed by an individual differences measure) on effort investment. Second, contrary to dispositional NFC, manipulations yielded a "dual effect" because they negatively affected task performance as well as invested effort. The latter result was interpreted as an indication that noise and time pressure manipulations also tax cognitive resources. The two main findings are discussed and the authors go further into the divergences between dispositional and manipulated NFC.

Differences in eating style between overweight and normal-weight youngsters.

Differences in eating styles between overweight and normal-weight youngsters were investigated with a child version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). Subjects were children (n=1458; M: 10.1; SD=1.3) and adolescents (n=1016; M: 14.9; SD=1.5). Overweight adolescent girls scored high on emotional eating while overweight adolescent boys displayed more external eating. In overweight children, already 10.5 per cent displayed emotional eating and 38.4 per cent reported external eating. All overweight youngsters reported restrained attitudes. Eating styles were positively associated with indicators of eating pathology. The results suggest the use of appropriate norms that take into account the child's age, gender and overweight status.

Thought suppression in obese and non-obese restrained eaters: piece of cake or forbidden fruit?

OBJECTIVE: This article examines thought suppression tendencies in restrained eaters. Furthermore, the dynamics between failing thought suppression and thought control strategies are explored. METHODS: One hundred and five overweight and normal-weight boys and girls (12-18 years) participated in a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A distinction was made between disinhibited restrained eaters (high restraint/high disinhibition), inhibited restrained eaters (high restraint/low disinhibition) and unrestrained eaters (low restraint) in both weight-groups. The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) was used to select the different groups of (un)restrained eaters. The White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) was employed to measure thought suppression and intrusions. The Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) was used to measure thought control strategies (distraction, punishment, reappraisal, worry, social control). RESULTS: The disinhibited restrainers obtained meaningfully higher scores on WBSI-total, WBSI-thought suppression and WBSI-intrusion than the inhibited restrainers and unrestrained eaters in both weight groups. Those who scored high on WBSI-total, obtained significantly higher scores on the TCQ subscales distraction, worry and punishment, than those who scored low on WBSI-total. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that disinhibited restrainers, irrespective of their weight status, report a high tendency to suppress thoughts. Given Wegner's theoretical account, this may be associated with preoccupations and self-control difficulties.

Information processing of food cues in overweight and normal weight adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: Based on cognitive theory (CT), the aim of this study is to investigate the cognitive processing of food cues in clinically overweight adolescents. DESIGN: An experimental design with performance-based measures. METHODS: Eighty-seven (45 overweight, 42 normal weight) adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years were examined. All completed an imbedded word task (IWT), containing high caloric food words and matched control words, as a measure of attention interference. A free-recall task was used to detect explicit memory biases. To study the effects of cognitive avoidance, participants were instructed to suppress thoughts about food or merely to monitor them, prior to completing the IWT and memory task. RESULTS: No evidence was found for interference in the attention processing of food cues. Also, no effects of thought suppression were found. However, consistent with hypotheses, the overweight adolescents did show an explicit memory bias for food stimuli, not due to a more general negative evaluation of food words. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide at least partial support for the applicability of CT to adolescent obesity. The study was the first to reveal a memory bias for high caloric food cues in overweight youngsters, which may well reflect a later-stage activation of food-related schemata. These may play a role in food-related preoccupations and overeating. The existence of an early-stage attention bias is less clear and requires further investigation.

Are two informants better than one? Parent-child agreement on the eating styles of children who are overweight.

AIM: It is currently unknown to what extent the view of a child with overweight on its' own eating behaviour converges with parental perception regarding this behaviour and how parent-child agreement is influenced by overweight status and age. METHOD: Youngsters (N = 498; range 7-15 years; 37% boys) referred for weight treatment to an outpatient University centre filled in the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire-child version (DEBQ-child version; Van Strien & Braet, unpublished work), prior to treatment, while their parents reported on their child's eating behaviour by completing the DEBQ-parent version (Braet & Van Strien, 1997). RESULTS: Parents scored significantly higher when reporting on the emotional eating and external eating behaviour of their child, while they scored lower for restrained eating (all p < 0.001). Comparisons between the subscales of the DEBQ-parent version and the DEBQ-child version revealed significant positive correlations of r = 0.45 for emotional eating, r = 0.35 for external eating and r = 0.36 for restrained eating (all p < 0.01); convergence is lowest for the age group younger than 10 (p < 0.05). Both versions of the DEBQ displayed low correlations with the degree of overweight of the child. DISCUSSION: Parents and children displayed moderate to good agreement with regard to emotional eating, external eating and restrained eating. However when only one perspective can be assessed, possible biases must be taken into account. In that case, the use of appropriate age-specific norms is indicated.

'When suppression backfires': the ironic effects of suppressing eating-related thoughts.

Based on Wegner's Ironic Processing Theory, this study examines the effects of suppressing eating-related thoughts in a sample of 77 female students. A distinction was made between disinhibited restrainers (high dietary restraint/high disinhibition), inhibited restrainers (high dietary restraint/low disinhibition) and low restrainers. Results indicate that disinhibited restrainers used thought suppression more often and were the only group to show a rebound effect for eating-related thoughts after suppression. No effects of suppression on willingness and desire to eat emerged. Hence, thought suppression may be counterproductive at least for a subgroup of restrainers and may fuel eating-related preoccupations. More research is required to evaluate effects on eating behaviour.

Motivational dynamics underlying eating regulation in young and adult female dieters: relationships with healthy eating behaviours and disordered eating symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether type of goals and motives underlying females' eating regulation are associated differentially with daily eating behaviours, dependent upon weight and age category. DESIGN: 99 late adolescent female dieters (Mage = 18.94) and 98 adult female dieters (Mage = 45.06), 23.6% of which were overweight, completed a questionnaire and a 7-day diary assessment. Descriptive analysis and path analysis were performed to investigate the research questions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Healthy eating behaviours (HEHS), drive for thinness and binge eating symptoms (EDI). RESULTS: Appearance-focused and controlled eating regulation were positively related to disordered eating symptoms throughout the week. In contrast, autonomous and health-focused eating regulation were associated positively with healthy eating behaviours and were either related negatively or unrelated to disordered eating symptoms. Mean level differences in motivation and eating behaviours emerged according to age and weight status. However, the examined structural model was similar for late adolescent and adult dieters and only few differences emerged between normal-weight and overweight dieters. CONCLUSION: Dieters' type of motivation helps to explain when eating regulation relates to healthy and disordered eating symptoms.

Exposure makes the heart grow less fond!: the effects of exposure to palatable foods on the subsequent attention processing of food cues.

Prior research has provided conflicting evidence on the question of whether exposure to food temptations directs attention towards or away from food cues. In this study, the effects of exposure to food temptations on attention processing were investigated using an exogenous cueing paradigm. The results show that exposure to food temptations led participants to direct their attention away from food cues. This effect was found after exposure to pictures of food as well as real food temptations. These findings suggest that food temptations activate a tendency to avoid food stimuli, regardless of the restraint and disinhibition levels of the participants.

Resisting temptation: effects of exposure to a forbidden food on eating behaviour.

The study tests existing evidence on the paradoxical effects of exposure to a forbidden snack. Sixty-eight females were assigned randomly to one of two conditions: a temptation group, who were given the instruction to abstain from a favourite snack for 24h while being exposed to it, or a control group, who were given no specific instructions. A further distinction was made between high-restraint/high-disinhibition (n=21), high-restraint/low-disinhibition (n=20) and low-restraint participants (n=27) based on DEBQ subscale scores. After exposure to the foods, all participants were given free access to the food. Participants ate more of the snack after abstinence with exposure. The high-restraint/high-disinhibition group in particular displayed a substantial disinhibition effect. Results indicate that prohibition with exposure may backfire and increase the risk of loss of control over eating behaviour, particularly in at-risk groups of disinhibited restrained eaters.

Observation of family functioning at mealtime: a comparison between families of children with and without overweight.

OBJECTIVE: To examine differences between families of children with and without overweight on parental control and support. METHODS: Twenty-eight families with an overweight child and a control group of 28 families with a normal weight child (age range 7-13 years) participated in the study. Observations and self-reports of mealtime family functioning were administered and analyzed. RESULTS: Parents of children with overweight reported to exert more control on their children's feeding behavior and an equal amount of parental support in comparison with parents of children without overweight. However, observations at mealtime indicated that in families with an overweight child, maladaptive control strategies were twice as prevalent, and less parental support was displayed. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reports and observations provide complementary information on how parents interact with their overweight children. Family-based treatment programs should include discussions on the adequate amount of parental control and support.

Rehabilitation of scapular muscle balance: which exercises to prescribe?

BACKGROUND: Strengthening exercises for the scapular muscles are used in the treatment of scapulothoracic dysfunction related to shoulder injury. In view of the intermuscular and intramuscular imbalances often established in these patients, exercises promoting lower trapezius (LT), middle trapezius (MT), and serratus anterior (SA) activation with minimal activity in the upper trapezius (UT) are recommended. HYPOTHESIS: Of 12 commonly used trapezius strengthening exercises, a selection can be performed for muscle balance rehabilitation, based on a low UT/LT, UT/MT, or UT/SA muscle ratio. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: Electromyographic activity of the 3 trapezius parts and the SA was measured in 45 healthy subjects performing 12 commonly described scapular exercises, using surface electromyography. RESULTS: For each intramuscular trapezius ratio (UT/LT, UT/MT), 3 exercises were selected for restoration of muscle balance. The exercises side-lying external rotation, side-lying forward flexion, prone horizontal abduction with external rotation, and prone extension were found to be the most appropriate for intramuscular trapezius muscle balance rehabilitation. For the UT/SA ratio, none of the exercises met the criteria for optimal intermuscular balance restoration. CONCLUSION: In cases of trapezius muscle imbalance, some exercises are preferable over others because of their low UT/LT and UT/MT ratios. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In the selection of rehabilitation exercises, the clinician should have a preference for exercises with high activation of the LT and MT and low activity of the UT.

'The weight of a thought': food-related thought suppression in obese and normal-weight youngsters.

OBJECTIVE: The ironic processing theory by Wegner states that suppressing unwanted thoughts can be counterproductive because it leads to a rebound of these thoughts, eventually causing increased preoccupations. In line with this view, the present study examines the effects of suppressing food- and eating- related thoughts in obese and non-obese youngsters. METHOD: Ninety-seven clinically obese and non-obese boys and girls, with different levels of dietary restraint, were asked to monitor their thoughts about food for 5min, during three subsequent trial periods. Participants were instructed to suppress thoughts about food or to merely monitor them. The number of food-related thoughts was recorded across trials. RESULTS: No indication was found for an overall post-suppression rebound effect. However, when examining subgroups of high and low restrained eaters, results showed that the obese high restrained eaters displayed a pattern that was indicative of a rebound effect for food-related thoughts. None of the other groups shared these effects. DISCUSSION: The results corroborate the hypothesis that trying not to think about food and eating may be counterproductive, at least for a subgroup of clinically obese high restrained eaters. Thought suppression may be one of the factors contributing to acceleration and perpetuation of burdensome food-related thinking in clinically obese high restrained eaters.