Biomedical subjects

T McFarlane

Publications and source records attributed to T McFarlane.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Effects of false weight feedback on mood, self-evaluation, and food intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters.

Restrained and unrestrained eaters were weighted 5 lb (2.27 kg) heavier or 5 lb lighter than their actual weight or were not weighed at all. Unrestrained eaters and restrained eaters who were told they weighed 5 lb less were not affected by the false weight feedback. However, restrained eaters who were informed that they weighted 5 lb more reported lower self-esteem, less positive moods, and more negative moods than did restrained eaters in the other 2 conditions. Furthermore, restrained eaters who were led to believe that they weighed heavier ate significantly more food during a subsequent "taste test" than did each of the other groups. Restrained eaters who believed that they were heavier experienced lowered self-worth and a worsening of mood that led them to relinquish their dietary restraint and overindulge in available food. Implications for patients with eating disorders are discussed.

Affect↗

PubMed1997

Increasing willingness to taste novel foods: effects of nutrition and taste information.

This study was designed to examine the effects of various kinds of information on willingness to ingest novel foods in individuals varying in the extent to which they reported that nutritional concerns affected their food choices. Male and female volunteers ranging in age from 10 to 79 (N = 401), saw six familiar and six novel foods, and received no information, taste likability information, general nutrition information, or specific nutrition information about the whole set of foods. They rated their willingness to taste each food, with the clear implication that their willingness ratings would determine which foods they would taste later in the study. On a separate questionnaire, they also rated the factors influencing their food everyday choices, and these ratings were used to compute an "importance of nutrition" score for each individual. Results indicated that older subjects were generally more willing to try novel foods than younger ones, that general nutrition information was effective for high school and college students, and that specific nutrition information was influential for young adults. It was also found that general nutrition information increased willingness to taste novel food in subjects for whom nutrition is important and decreased such willingness in subjects for whom nutrition is not important.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Effects of anxiety on eating: does palatability moderate distress-induced overeating in dieters?

When confronted with an anxiety-producing threat to self-esteem, restrained eaters (dieters) increase their food consumption. The functional explanation suggests that increased eating temporarily counteracts or masks dysphoria for the restrained eater; externality or stimulus sensitivity theories propose that distress shifts the dieter's attention to external stimulus properties (e.g., taste) and to activities stimulated by such external cues. In an attempt to distinguish between these two explanations, anxious and nonanxious restrained and unrestrained eaters were given palatable and unpalatable foods, and consumption was measured. Results support the functional explanations: Distressed dieters increased their intake of food regardless of taste properties. Theoretical and practical implications for both restrained eating and the behavior of eating disorder patients are discussed.

Anxiety↗

PubMed1982