The measurement of restraint: confounding success and failure?

The present study examined the concept of restrained eating as measured by the Restraint Scale and the restrained eating section of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. The results showed that when answering questionnaires, subjects do not differentiate between items relating to attempts at dieting and actual restrictive behavior and that restrained eating can be conceptualized in terms of both successful and failed restraint. In addition, the results suggest that subjects who report high scores on both these measures of restraint represent a population of dieters prone to overeating behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the population selected by measures of restrained eating and in relation to the definition of restraint.