Dietary restraint and eating behavior in the natural environment.

The influence of caloric labeling on meal selection with subjects differing in dietary restraint was investigated in a cafeteria restaurant. The three lowest calorie food selections within three food categories (i.e., salads, vegetables, entrees) were identified by labels. Within a multiple-baseline design, each food category was labeled for three evenings in a randomly determined order. Three hundred thirty-six male and female customers completed the Restraint Scale and were categorized as overweight or normal weight. Females and customers with high restraint scores chose and estimated that they chose lower calorie foods with neither effect for labeling nor a labeling-by-restraint interaction evident. Customers high in restraint also underestimated the caloric values of their selections.