Body satisfaction and feeling fat in dieters and bulimic patients: The effect of high and low calorie preloads

Wardle and Foley (1989) reported a trend toward increased feelings of fatness and decreased body satisfaction among restrained eaters, following consumption of a "fattening" snack. This investigation is extended by examining the response of normal women, classified as high or low in cognitive restraint, and bulimic women to high and low-calorie connotation meals, and to measures of body image, eating pathology, and depression. Subjects completed visual analogue scale (VAS) ratings of "body satisfaction" and "feeling fat" prior to and following baseline (ad libitum), low-calorie preload, and high-calorie preload meals. VAS ratings remained extremely stable across meals, and the high-calorie preload did not result in a predicted shift toward more negative self-appraisals among bulimics and dieters. A strong group effect was noted, with bulimics more negative in appraials of body image than dieters, who in turn were more negative than normals. Cognitive restraint was significantly correlated with ratings of body image and depression.