The Effects of Dieting as Usual on Weight Change and Bulimic Pathology: Experimental Evidence

Concerns that dieting increases the risk for bulimia nervosa have prompted criticism of this practice; however, recent experimental studies suggest that dieting results in weight loss and decreased bulimic symptoms. Because the dieting manipulated in these experiments may be unrepresentative of real-world weight-loss dieting, 122 intermittent dieters were randomized to either diet as they usually do for weight loss or eat as they do when not dieting for four weeks to provide a more ecologically valid experimental test of these effects. Results indicated that individuals in the diet as usual condition slowed the weight gain trajectory shown by non-dieting participants, but did not result in significant weight loss. These findings imply that most dieters may simply be curbing a general tendency to overeat when attempting to diet, and that dieters may be eating less than they desire rather than reducing their intake sufficiently to