ABSTRACT

The primary aim of this study was to investigate self-reported reasons for engaging in dietary restraint (DR) in a food insecure urban population. It also tested whether DR was associated with increased eating disorder (ED) pathology when DR was broadly assessed. The initial sample (N = 503) consisted of adult clients visiting food pantries who completed the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale for DSM 5, the Radimer Cornell Food Insecurity Measure, and three items from the DR subscale of Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q); EDE-Q items were modified to allow participants to explain why they restricted. Analyses included participants (N = 259) who responded to one of the modified EDE-Q questions. Results indicated that participants engaged in DR for several reasons, including minimizing the effect of hunger for other family members (i.e., children), “stretching” food to make it last longer, and prioritizing medical expenses. Intentional efforts to limit food intake in this sample were correlated with increased ED pathology. Although it is not surprising that adults experiencing food insecurity engage in intentional DR, this study adds important information about why food insecure adults engage in DR and highlights the importance of assessing DR for reasons other than weight and shape concerns.

摘要

本研究的主要目的是调查在粮食不安全的城市人口中进行饮食限制 (DR) 的自我报告原因。它还测试了当 DR 被广泛评估时，DR 是否与增加的饮食失调 (ED) 病理有关。初始样本 ( N = 503) 包括访问食品储藏室的成年客户，他们完成了DSM 5的饮食失调诊断量表、Radimer Cornell 食品不安全措施，以及饮食失调检查问卷 (EDE-Q ) DR 分量表中的三个项目; 修改 EDE-Q 项目以允许参与者解释他们限制的原因。分析包括参与者（N= 259) 谁回答了修改后的 EDE-Q 问题之一。结果表明，参与者从事 DR 有几个原因，包括尽量减少饥饿对其他家庭成员（即儿童）的影响，“拉伸”食物以使其持续更长时间，以及优先考虑医疗费用。有意限制该样本中食物摄入量的努力与增加的 ED 病理相关。尽管经历粮食不安全的成年人有意进行DR并不奇怪，但本研究增加了有关粮食不安全的成年人为何参与 DR 的重要信息，并强调了出于体重和形状问题以外的原因评估 DR 的重要性。