I'm Having A Fat Day, UK

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 04 Apr 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Dieters who fluctuate from day-to-day between eating high and low calorie meals feel dissatisfied with their body image. By contrast, dieters who, from day-to-day, eat meals of similar calories feel better about their body image.

Furthermore, dieters who experience body image 'ups' and 'downs' across the week are more likely to eat high calorie meals than dieters who have more stable body image feelings.

These findings, from research by Paul Lattimore and Rachel Hutchinson of Liverpool John Moore's University, were presented on Thursday 3 April 2008, at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference in Dublin.

The researchers asked 45 dieters to complete measures of their overall satisfaction with their bodies and then to complete daily measures over seven days in which they recorded an estimate of the number of calories they had consumed that day together with an estimate of their weight and their body satisfaction for that day.

The researchers suggest that the relationship between body image and eating is a two way process. On the one hand, body image satisfaction can be affected by the calorie content of meals. On the other hand day-to-day fluctuation in body image feelings may cause dieters to eat high calorie meals.

These results have potential implications for dieters. Dr Lattimore said: "If a dieter can be consistent from day-to-day in calories eaten then a more positive experience of body image will follow. However, it is also likely that if a positive experience of body image can be achieved then a dieter should gradually become more successful in maintaining weight loss."

British Psychological Society