The phenomenology of food cravings: the role of mental imagery.

The study aimed to investigate the role of mental imagery in the experience of food cravings. A sample of 130 undergraduate students was first asked to recall and rate a previous food craving experience. Second, they were asked to imagine themselves eating their favourite food and to rate the involvement of different sensory modalities. It was found that mental imagery was a key element in both the retrospective craving experience and the current food induction. In particular, craving intensity was related to the vividness of the food image (r = .46). The specific sensory modalities most involved were visual (39.7%) and gustatory (30.6%), followed by olfactory (15.8%). There was little involvement of auditory or tactile modalities. It was concluded that cognitive experimental techniques aimed at reducing the vividness of visual, gustatory or olfactory imagery, might usefully be deployed to reduce unwanted food cravings.

The impact of adolescent girls' life concerns and leisure activities on body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and self-esteem.

The aim of this study was to situate adolescent girls' body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and self-esteem in the context of their life concerns and leisure activities. Questionnaires containing measures of life concerns, leisure activities, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and self-esteem were administered to 306 girls with a mean age of 16 years. It was found that although academic success and intelligence were rated as the most important life concerns, an emphasis on slimness was most strongly linked to body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and global self-esteem. An emphasis on popularity with girls also was related to body dissatisfaction, and hours spent watching television were related to lower self-esteem. In contrast, emphasis on sport seemed to serve a protective function. It was concluded that adolescent girls who have a high concern for slimness should be assisted in decreasing this emphasis in order to improve their general well-being.

Effect of gender composition of school on body concerns in adolescent women.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the role of gender composition of school on body figure preferences, eating disorder symptomology, and role concerns. METHOD: Questionnaires were completed by 261 Australian adolescent girls in two private single-sex and two private coeducational school environments. RESULTS: There was no difference in nominated ideal figure or eating disorder scores between the schools. However, girls in the single-sex schools placed a greater emphasis on achievement than their counterparts at the coeducational schools. These role concerns had a differential impact on prediction of the ideal figure, whereby the importance placed on intelligence and professional success predicted the choice of a thinner ideal figure for the single-sex schools, but a larger ideal for the coeducational schools. DISCUSSION: It was concluded that the motivation for thinness differs between single-sex and coeducational schools.

Kluyveromyces lactis cytoplasmic plasmid pGKL2: heterologous expression of Orf3p and proof of guanylyltransferase and mRNA-triphosphatase activities.

The predicted ORF3 polypeptide (Orf3p) of the linear genetic element pGKL2 from Kluyveromyces lactis was expressed in Bacillus megaterium as a fusion protein with a His(6X)-tag at the C-terminus for isolation by Ni-affinity chromatography. This is the first time that a yeast cytoplasmic gene product has been expressed heterologously as a functional protein in a bacterial system. The purified protein was found to display both RNA 5'-triphosphatase and guanylyltransferase activities. When the lysine residue present at position 177 of the protein within the sequence motif (KXDG), highly conserved in capping enzymes and other nucleotidyl transferases, was substituted by alanine, the guanylyltransferase activity was lost, thereby proving an important role for the transfer of GMP from GTP to the 5'-diphosphate end of the mRNA. Our in vitro data provides the first direct evidence that the polypeptide encoded by ORF3 of the cytoplasmic yeast plasmid pGKL2 functions as a plasmid-specific capping enzyme. Since genes equivalent to ORF3 of pGKL2 have been identified in all autonomous cytoplasmic yeast DNA elements investigated so far, our findings are of general significance for these widely distributed yeast extranuclear genetic elements.

Body image across the life span in adult women: the role of self-objectification.

This study aimed to investigate women's body image across the entire life span from within the theoretical perspective provided by objectification theory (B. L. Fredrickson & T.-A. Roberts, 1997). In a cross-sectional study, a sample of 322 women ranging in age from 20 to 84 years completed a questionnaire measuring body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and its proposed consequences. Although body dissatisfaction remained stable across the age range, self-objectification, habitual body monitoring, appearance anxiety, and disordered eating symptomatology all significantly decreased with age. Self-objectification was found to mediate the relationship between age and disordered eating symptomatology. It was concluded that objectification theory helps clarify the processes involved in the changes in body image that occur with age.

The effect of weight-loss dieting on cognitive performance and psychological well-being in overweight women.

This study investigated the effect of a weight reduction diet on cognitive performance and psychological well-being among overweight women. A total of 42 women undertook a 12-week weight reduction diet while 21 women maintained their usual diet and exercise habits for 12 weeks. All women completed neuropsychologcial tests of speed of information processing, executive function, working memory, immediate and delayed recall and recognition, and verbal ability. They also completed measures of weight locus of control, dieting beliefs, self-esteem, mood and dysfunctional attitudes, before and after the 12-week interval. Being on the diet had a minimal impact on cognitive performance and a positive effect on emotional eating, feelings of depression and dysfunctional attitudes. A sense of control over weight and eating behaviour increased among the dieters, but an internal locus of control was negatively related to self-esteem.

Person x situation interactions in body dissatisfaction.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the interaction between personal and situational variables in the determination of body satisfaction. METHOD: Participants were asked to imagine themselves in each of four hypothetical scenarios while completing measures of body image. RESULTS: A main effect for situation was found on both global body dissatisfaction and body esteem, whereby participants rated themselves as more dissatisfied in the body-focused situations (Beach, Dressing room) than in the non-body-focused situations (Refectory, Home). In addition, there was a main effect of self-esteem. Of more interest, there were also significant Situation x Body Mass Index (BMI), Situation x Dietary Restraint, and Situation x BMI x Social Comparison interactions. DISCUSSION: This study has demonstrated situational effects, person effects, and Person x Situation interactions within the one framework. As such, it contributes to an increasingly complex and dynamic view of body image.

Factors predicting sleep disruption in Type II diabetes.

This study investigated four correlates of diabetes as potential predictors of sleep disruption in people with Type II diabetes. A tentative causal model proposed obesity would lead to more severe diabetes, which would result in increased physical complications, which might in turn affect emotional adjustment, and all of these might combine to cause sleep disruption. It was found that within a diabetic sample, severity of diabetes was related to sleep disruption. Path analysis indicated that the relationship between Type II diabetes and sleep disruption was mediated by physical complications of the disease (pain and nocturia), and not by either obesity or emotional adjustment.

An attempt to reduce negative stereotyping of obesity in children by changing controllability beliefs.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether changing children's beliefs about the controllability of obesity would reduce their negative attitudes toward fat people. The participants were 74 children from Grades 4-6, 42 in the experimental group and 32 in the control group. The experimental group were presented with a brief intervention which focussed on the uncontrollability of weight. The study found that the intervention was successful in reducing the amount of controllability that children assigned to obesity, but was not successful in reducing negative stereotyping of the obese among the experimental group compared to the control group. These results indicate that while children's beliefs about the controllability of obesity can be changed, reducing their negative stereotyping is more difficult.

"I would rather be size 10 than have straight A's": a focus group study of adolescent girls' wish to be thinner.

The study aimed to investigate the body concerns of adolescent girls, together with the underlying motivations for the wish to be thinner. Focus group methodology was employed in order to access participants' experience in their own language. Altogether 67 girls of Year 11 (aged approximately 16 years) took part in five groups. Audiotaped and transcribed discussions were systematically coded for themes and rated on frequency, extensiveness, intensity, specificity and level of agreement. As expected, sociocultural influences, in particular the media, were reported as exerting the strongest pressures to be thin. More importantly, however, the girls displayed an unexpected sophistication in their conceptualization of the role of both media effects and body image in the construction of their self-image. Contrary to assumptions made in quantitative research, despite clearly articulating a desire to be thinner, the girls also described how this did not necessarily mean they were dissatisfied with their bodies. The findings suggest that the girls' meta-awareness and sophisticated understanding of the media and other pressures, may serve to moderate against these forces which would otherwise seem overwhelming.

Dieting and cognitive style: the role of current and past dieting behaviour and cognitions.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between dieting and global cognitive style in a non-clinical sample. Questionnaires were administered to 218 Australian undergraduate students. Dieting was operationalized in two ways: self-reported current dieting behaviour; and scores on dietary restraint. It was found that current, but not past, dieters had more dysfunctional cognitive attitudes, confirming the necessity of distinguishing between current and past dieting behaviour. The Concern for Dieting subscale of dietary restraint was also related to a dysfunctional cognitive style, even after level of depressed mood was statistically controlled. In particular, the dysfunctional attitude of Dichotomous Thinking was implicated. Taken together, the findings imply that dieters do not have an enduring maladaptive cognitive style, but rather that current dieting concerns and behaviour are associated with poorer cognitive functioning.

The structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for three measures of disordered eating.

BACKGROUND: The study explored the genetic and environmental risk factors for both the behaviours and attitudes characteristic of disordered eating. METHODS: In three waves of data collection, information was collected from female twins regarding their eating and attitudes towards eating, weight and shape. The first assessment consisted of a self-report questionnaire (1988-9) with 1682 women. The second assessment consisted of a semi-structured psychiatric interview schedule (1992-3), completed by 1852 women, many of whom had completed Wave 1 assessment. The third assessment, with 325 women chosen from Waves 1 and 2 (1995-6), consisted of a semi-structured interview (the Eating Disorder Examination). RESULTS: As only one twin pair was concordant for lifetime bulimia nervosa at Wave 3 assessment, ordinal measures of all assessments were used in a multivariate genetic analysis. Results indicated that additive genetic and non-shared environmental influences best explained variance in liability to disordered eating, with about 60% (95% CI 50-68) of the variance explained by genetic factors. Comparison with a model allowing for the effects of shared environment indicated genetic factors accounted for a similar degree of variance (59%, 95% CI 36-68). CONCLUSION: Liability to the development of the behaviours and attitudes characteristic of eating disorders is best explained by both environmental and genetic factors, with covariation between the three measures best explained by a single latent phenotype of disordered eating which has a heritability of 60%.

Weight concern across the life-span: relationship to self-esteem and feminist identity.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlates of weight concern across the life-span. METHOD: Questionnaires assessing weight concern, self-esteem, and feminist attitudes were completed in their homes by 180 women aged between 18 and 60 years. RESULTS: It was found that there was a negative relationship between weight concern and self-esteem for 30 to 49-year-old women, but not for younger or older women. A similar pattern held for feminist attitudes. Among 30 to 49-year-old women, a strong feminist orientation related to a lesser concern with weight. DISCUSSION: It was concluded that the meaning and experience of body weight and size change across the life-span.

The role of body dissatisfaction and bingeing in the self-esteem of women with type II diabetes.

This study investigated the impact of body dissatisfaction and binge eating on self-esteem in women with Type II diabetes. The relationship of body dissatisfaction and bingeing to perceived blood glucose control was also assessed. Questionnaires were completed by a total of 215 women: 125 women with Type II diabetes and 90 comparison women, who were roughly matched for age, education, and ethnicity. When actual weight (BMI) was statistically controlled, there was no difference between the groups in body dissatisfaction or bingeing behavior. The women with diabetes, however, had significantly lower self-esteem. Further, bingeing made a significant contribution to their self-esteem, in contrast to the women without diabetes. For the women with diabetes, body dissatisfaction and bingeing were also related to perceived blood glucose control, although only bingeing remained significant when both variables were entered into the regression equation. It was concluded that diabetes broadens the domains of body dissatisfaction which are related to self-esteem.

Genetic and environmental risk factors for the weight and shape concerns characteristic of bulimia nervosa.

BACKGROUND: This study seeks to identify the genetic and environmental risk factors for the overvalued ideas that are characteristic of bulimia nervosa, using a biometrical model fitting approach with twin data. METHODS: The Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), which can be used to gain continuous measures of dietary restraint, eating concern, weight concern and shape concern, was administered to 325 female twins, both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ). For each subscale, questions were asked concerning the month prior to interview and lifetime prevalence ('ever'). RESULTS: Model fitting indicated that there is a powerful role of the environment in shaping women's attitude towards weight, shape, eating and food, ranging from 38% to 100% of the variance. For all subscales, with the exception of weight concern, the best explanation for individual variation was one that incorporated additive genetic and non-shared environmental influences. In contrast, model fitting indicated that non-shared and shared environmental influences best explained the variance of weight concern. CONCLUSIONS: With the exception of the Shape Concern subscale, environmental factors make a greater contribution than genetic factors to the development of the overvalued ideas that are seen to be one of the triggers for the development of bulimia nervosa. Given this substantial role of the environment influences, it seems likely that environmental manipulation can be effective in the prevention of bulimia nervosa.

Women's body figure preferences across the life span.

Body figure preferences were examined in a sample of 180 women 18 to 59 years old. Participants were presented with Fallon and Rozin's (1985) set of 9 silhouette drawings ranging from very thin to every heavy. Women of all ages rated their current figure as significantly larger than their ideal figure, indicating the presence of body dissatisfaction across the life span. The degree of body dissatisfaction did not vary with age, marital status, educational level, or occupational status. However, in contrast to the younger women's responses and to the results of previous studies, women over the age of 30 years rated their ideal figure as significantly larger than the one perceived as most attractive to men. Therefore, conclusions concerning this issue that are based on studies of college undergraduates cannot necessarily be generalized to other groups of women.

Children's figure ratings: relationship to self-esteem and negative stereotyping.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have used figure ratings to demonstrate substantially greater body dissatisfaction among women than men. The present study aimed to investigate gender differences in body dissatisfaction in younger children. METHOD: A children's version of the Figure Rating Scale was administered to 140 children between the ages of 7 and 12 years. Children also completed measures of self-esteem and negative stereotyping of fat people. RESULTS: Irrespective of age, girls rated their ideal figure as smaller than the one they considered most attractive to boys, and as substantially smaller than their current figure. For boys, there was no difference in ratings. Level of body dissatisfaction correlated negatively with self-esteem and positively with negative stereotyping for boys, but not for girls. DISCUSSION: The results are consistent with body dissatisfaction being "a normative discontent" for young girls as well as for adult women.

Comparison of cognitive style in bulimia nervosa and depression.

This study investigated the global and specific cognitive style associated with bulimia nervosa. Three groups of women (women with bulimia nervosa, women with major depression, and controls) completed measures of eating disorder severity, depression, dysfunctional cognitions and irrational beliefs. The control group was found to report significantly lower levels of cognitive distortions and irrational beliefs overall than both women with bulimia nervosa and women with depression. However, no difference was found between the latter two groups. Furthermore, the pattern of individual cognitions and beliefs was exactly the same. When depression was statistically controlled, cognitive style no longer differentiated between the control group and two clinical groups. These results have implications for improving the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy for bulimia nervosa.

Characteristics of interview refusers: women who decline to participate in interviews relating to eating.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the eating habits and weight ranges of 27 women who refused to participate in a semistructured interview on eating with 25 women who agreed to participate, to determine if there were any systematic differences between the two groups. METHOD: The women had previously completed a general psychiatric interview that also included a lifetime DSM-III-R diagnosis of eating disorders. About 2 years after this interview, the women were asked to participate in an interview that would specifically examine eating behaviors. RESULTS: In contrast to the results of previous studies, this study found that there was no difference between women who refused or agreed to participate in an interview about eating, in terms of their eating problems or weight ranges. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that eating or weight problems need not be overrepresented in groups who refuse to participate in surveys about eating, thereby undermining the accuracy of prevalence rates in the general population. Suggestions for achieving this representation are discussed.

Psychological effects of weight retained after pregnancy.

This study is a prospective investigation of the effect of weight retained after pregnancy on weight satisfaction, self-esteem and depressive affect, utilising the framework provided by expectancy-value theory. Self-report data were obtained from 115 women who were in the last month of their first pregnancy, and then again a month following the birth. On average women were heavier four weeks after having their baby than they were prior to becoming pregnant, and were less satisfied with their post-natal weight and shape. They were also slightly heavier than they had anticipated, particularly in the case of the younger women. Actual post-natal weight proved the most important predictor of psychological well-being following birth.