DClinPsy Portfolio Volume 1 of 3 - University of Hertfordshire ...

Stice et al’s (2002, 2005) studies found a relationship between dietary restraint and later
obesity using a prospective design. This is an improvement over cross-sectional data,
nevertheless they still cannot rule out third-variable explanations for the relations that
could account for the effects (e.g. a genetic propensity to gain weight). Although the
longitudinal method and large sample sizes were strengths, the non-experimental nature
precluded causal inferences. Additionally, weight-change history preceding study entry
was not assessed. Also, in some studies, e.g. Stice (1999), there was no measure of
dietary intake, so it was unclear whether the association was attributable to, or
independent of, actual dietary intake. Stice et al (2005) suggested that a crucial direction
for future research would be to conduct randomised experiments that attempt to
triangulate the effects from prospective studies. Randomised prevention trials could test
whether reducing weight-control behaviours actually results in reduced risk for obesity
onset. These types of experiments would effectively rule out the possibility that some
unmeasured variable is responsible for the prospective effects observed in longitudinal
studies.
Furthermore, most of the studies measure BMI as it is the recommended measure of
adiposity in epidemiologic research; however, it can reflect elevations in other aspects of
body composition rather than adipose tissue, such as muscle mass, which can therefore
confound results. Lastly, many studies relied on self-report measures and suffered sample
bias e.g. in Keel et al’s (2007) study participants were recruited from a prestigious
university so results may not be generalisable to other cohorts.
Body image and emotion regulation in disordered eating
As the majority of girls who exhibit body dissatisfaction do not go on to develop an
eating disorder, researchers and theorists have looked to factors such as the role of
emotion regulation to help distinguish between normative levels of body dissatisfaction
and levels that may increase the risk of clinical eating problems.
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