Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, London, UK.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2012 May;36(5):665-74. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.156. Epub 2011 Aug 9.
Self-control is generally viewed as highly desirable. In the eating behavior domain, however, the dominance of restraint theory has made the proposition that individuals should attempt to control their eating more controversial. This review discusses evidence from the dietary restraint literature and from studies of self-regulation processes to examine how far self-imposed control around food can be seen as beneficial for effective weight management. Epidemiological and field study evidence provides little support for the proposition that restrained eating causes disinhibited eating patterns. Restraint is often initiated as a response to weight gain, and the co-occurrence of disinhibited and restrained eating patterns on an individual level might better be explained by restraint acting as a marker for overeating tendencies. A sustained effort to monitor and control food intake characterizes successful long-term weight maintenance, suggesting that self-regulation in the eating domain is essential for those with a tendency to gain weight. Evidence from the literature on cognitive self-regulation suggests that there may be potential for people to learn to self-regulate better, both through training and controlled exposure techniques. Integration of the disparate theories of self-regulation is needed to identify the best ways of promoting self-regulation in order to support effective weight control, both in clinical and community settings.
自我控制通常被认为是非常可取的。然而，在饮食行为领域，由于克制理论的主导地位，关于个体应该尝试控制饮食的观点变得更加有争议。本综述讨论了饮食克制文献和自我调节过程研究中的证据，以考察围绕食物进行自我控制在多大程度上可以被视为有效体重管理的有益方法。流行病学和现场研究证据几乎没有支持克制饮食导致抑制性饮食模式的观点。克制饮食通常是作为体重增加的反应而开始的，而个体水平上抑制性和克制性饮食模式的共同出现，可能更好地解释为克制饮食是暴饮暴食倾向的标志。持续努力监控和控制食物摄入是成功长期维持体重的特征，这表明在饮食领域的自我调节对于那些容易增重的人来说是必不可少的。关于认知自我调节的文献证据表明，人们可能有潜力通过训练和控制暴露技术更好地学会自我调节。需要整合不同的自我调节理论，以确定促进自我调节的最佳方法，以支持在临床和社区环境中有效控制体重。
