Restraint eating and sensitivity to stress: preliminary experimental evidence.

BACKGROUND

Restrained eaters (RE) typically display a recurrent pattern of restraint/overeating. This fluctuating behavior has recently been connected to mood and the affective style in general. In this context, it is argued that RE may be sensitive to stress. Nevertheless, there is no substantial evidence demonstrating that RE present behavioral or psychophysiological patterns that indicate this sensitivity.

AIM: To test whether there is a differential modulation of punishment in RE behavior within an experimental paradigm that manipulates the reward/punishment contingency.

METHOD: 104 female university students (31 RE and 73 controls) carried out an experimental task in which, under different reward/punishment contingencies, they had to choose an advantageous option.

RESULTS

A significant interaction was observed between the Choice and the Group, revealing that the frequency of punishment inhibits the choice response in RE, independent of its advantage/disadvantage. Although complementary studies are required, the data represent preliminary evidence that RE are sensitive to stress. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.